The government has raised Rs 70,000 crore so far from monetisation of highway projects and these funds will be utilised for further development of highways, Minister for Road and Highways Nitin Gadkari said on Monday.
“Around Rs 26,000 crore has been raised through Toll Operate Transfer (TOT) model, Rs 10,000 crore through InvIT and `34,000 crore through Special Purpose for identified projects. These funds will be used for further development of highways,” the minister said at the ‘Management Development Program on Infrastructure Financing’ organised by IIM Kozhikode.
“Asset monetization holds the key to infrastructure investment. National Highways Authority of India has the share of 27% under the national monetization pipeline,” Gadkari said. He said the government is constructing several greenfield expressway projects totalling 10,000 km across the country at a cost of Rs 4.5 trillion under Bharatmala Programme.
“The government has conceptualised Bharatmala Pariyojna of 65,000 km of highway development across the country. The phase 1 road network is 34,800 km… We are constructing 10,000 km of greenfield expressways at a cost of `4.5 trillion,” he said.
According to the minister, India’s total National Highway (NH) network has increased from 91,000 km in 2014 to nearly 1.45 lakh km at present. Gadkari further said the government has given a massive push to the economy through the national infrastructure pipeline and PM Gati Shakti National master plan. He said the government is building 335 multimodal logistics parks with an investment of `2 trillion and 1,200 km of ropeways for Rs 1.3 trillion.
These programs will ensure integrated and holistic development in the country saving cost and time as these new infra projects will connect remote areas in the country.