Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is working on a plan to raise Rs 1 lakh crore by putting national highways on the market in the next five years. He asked the industries to come forward in this matter and take advantage of it by investing.
Gadkari, who holds the responsibility of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), said that this will accelerate growth and the fund can be used to fund robust infrastructure facilities.
He said at the National Conference on ‘Road Infrastructure-Demand Generation: Speed Up Growth’ of Industry Board, CII said, “NHAI will market highways through toll collection operations and transfer (TOT) in the next five years to one lakh crores.” Is planning to raise Rs. ”
The minister said that market-raising (selling or leasing) the property on the market is a good business opportunity for the industries and on the other hand it will help the government to extract the value of investment made in infrastructure.
“It is beneficial for the industries as well as the government,” he said. This will help in promoting the infrastructure in the country.
NHAI has been authorized to market public-funded national highway projects on a TOT basis which have been in operation for at least one year and where toll collection is being done.
Gadkari said that the plan to put the national property on the market was an important initiative. This will act as a catalyst for long-term investment in the infrastructure sector.
News Source: TheEconomicTimes
