Union Minister of State Road Transport and Highways Gen (Retd) Dr V K Singh has said that the government is focussed on aligning national standards for design, construction, maintenance and operation of roads, bridges and flyovers with global standards. He said, this will bring down the cost of construction, while maintaining high standards of quality through adoption of innovative technologies and materials for road construction.
Addressing a FICCI conference on New and Emerging Technologies in Road Construction here today, Gen V K Singh hailed the participation of private sector in development of road infrastructure in the country. He said, increased industrial activities have supported the overall growth of the transport sector. The Minister Said, government’s policy of increasing private participation has yielded positive results, with India becoming world’s second largest road network of 5.8 million kms.
The Minister informed that nearly 65 per cent of all goods in the country are transported through roads, while 90 per cent of the total passenger traffic uses road network to commute. He said, the government is committed to building quality roads and highways in the country. He referred to the Bharatmala Pariyojana, which aims at building over 66 thousand kms of economic corridors, border and coastal roads, and expressways to boost the highway network. The Pariyajana envisages to provide 4-lane connectivity to 550 districts, increase vehicular speed by 20-25 per cent, and reduce the supply chain cost by 5-6 per cent.
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