India to invest ₹10 lakh crore in road expansion plans across the northeastern region

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari unveiled the Centre’s ₹10 lakh crore highway investment plan, emphasising world-class infrastructure, with over ₹3.7 lakh crore allocated to 784 projects in the Northeast area.

The government intends to invest 10 lakh crore rupees over the next two years to enhance highways throughout the country, with a special emphasis on the Northeast and border areas.

In an interview with a news agency, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari stated that the Centre is trying to significantly improve the country’s infrastructure over the next two years so that it can compete with the best in the world.  He stated that the government intends to undertake projects to improve infrastructure in the Northeast, where highways will rival those in the United States.

The Minister stated that there is an urgent need to improve road infrastructure in the Northeast due to its tough terrain and proximity to multiple nations’ borders.  He stated that 784 highway projects will be built in the eastern states at an estimated cost of over three lakh seventy thousand crore rupees, covering more than 21,300 kilometres.

Among these are projects from the Road Transport and Highways Ministry, the National Highways Authority of India, and the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited.  Mr Gadkari stated that the government in the Northeast is working on projects worth approximately 1 lakh crore rupees this year alone.  He stated that a mass rapid transportation trial project worth 170 crore rupees is ongoing in Nagpur. The project includes a 135-seater bus that will run on non-polluting energy sources and is intended to be extremely cost-effective. 

Source: https://www.newsonair.gov.in/govt-to-invest-rs-10-lakh-crore-in-highway-development-over-next-2-years-with-special-focus-on-northeast-nitin-gadkari/