The Centre expects investments worth ₹25 lakh-crore in the infrastructure sector by 2019, which will help generate 4 crore jobs, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said.
“The first two years were spent in correcting the legacy we had inherited of stalled projects. We could manage to award projects worth ₹2.5 lakh-crore only as most of our efforts were directed towards addressing roadblocks. The infrastructure space was one of the worst victims and things were at standstill. Yet, with our grit we bulldozed majority of the problems impeding growth.
“We expect investments worth ₹25 lakh-crore in the sector in the next three years. We rolled out the majority of the 403 stuck projects worth ₹3.85 lakh-crore. Developers shying away were brought back and now the stage is set for an unprecedented work,” Road Transport and Highways Minister Gadkari told PTI in an interview.
Gadkari further said the union Cabinet took as many as 21 major decisions pertaining to highways sector, besides other policy initiatives.
The Minister further said that with massive projects lined up, the country will witness at least 4 crore direct and indirect jobs and a boost in GDP by up to 3 per cent, by 2019.
In the next one year, the Centre will award projects worth at least ₹5 lakh-crore, he said, adding that projects worth ₹2.5 lakh-crore only could be awarded in the last two years, but now the target is to achieve building of 41 km of highways a day.
Gadkari said ₹50,000 crore of investment has already been lined up for the port sector, and massive work is underway to develop the waterways as well.
Citing an example of how bad the situation was when he took charge in 2014, the Minister said at that time, the CMD of Larsen & Toubro had come to him expressing inability to work in the highways sector.
“The sector had collapsed... Larsen & Toubro’s Chairman came to me seeking rejection of a tender in Maharashtra, saying they were ready to pay penalty as their Board had decided to not to do any road project given the company had suffered loss of ₹2,500 crore.