Talking about the ongoing work, Gadkari highlighted 25 greenfield expressways, a 3000 km port connectivity highway, and Rs 1 lakh crore worth of roads connecting religious tourism places are underway
-1749470460505_d.png "Indian roads will be comparable to America in another two years: Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari")
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday highlighted that the Indian road infrastructures will be as good as America in next two years. Representation Pic/File.
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday asserted that the Indian road infrastructures will be as good as America in next two years, supporting his statement he further added that the government has been working on roads and highways over the past decade, reported ANI.
"The question is not about the facelift, it has already changed. You have just watched the news reel, the main picture is yet to start. The projects in the pipeline are progressing rapidly. In another two years, you will be able to see that Indian road infrastructure will be similar to that of America," Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Gadkari, told ANI in an interview, on being asked when the face of Indian roads can completely change.
"Some people from America met me and said our infrastructure is better than America," he replied.
The Minister highlighted that the government has been investing in building good roads which has reduced the logistics costs in India, which will further improve export competitiveness.
"If we raise our exports, it will improve our agricultural sector, manufacturing, and services, among all other sectors," he said.
He also asserted that the main issue in India is about the high logistics cost which is around 16 percent compared to China’s 8 percent, US and European countries at 12 percent.
"Our roads were not good, our ports were not good. Traffic congestion raised costs," he said.
With improved road conditions the logistic costs will reduce to 9 percent, asserted Gadkari.
"This reduced cost will make us export competitive," he reiterated.
Talking about the ongoing work, Gadkari highlighted 25 greenfield expressways, a 3000 km port connectivity highway, and Rs 1 lakh crore worth of roads connecting religious tourism places are underway.
He also emphasised on connecting the Buddhist circuits and Char Dhams with well constructed roads.
"We are developing 36 tunnels between Jammu and Srinagar; 23 have been completed, and works for another 4-5 are underway. We are developing 15 ropeways under Parvatmala Yojana, besides 35 multi-modal logistics parks,” said Nitin Gadkari.
The key factor to economic development is building public infrastructure, enhancing connectivity, trade, and overall quality of life. Over the past decade India has made significant progress in infrastructural development by becoming the fifth-largest economy.
The National Master Plan (NMP) which was launched by the government in 2021, was briefly designed to bring together various ministers including railways and roadways to ensure systemic planning and coordination and execution of infrastructure projects.
India currently has the second-largest road connectivity in the world, and the National Highway spans about 1,46,000 km forming the primary arterial network of the country.
According to the statement released in early February 2025, India’s National Highway (NH) network has expanded from 65,569 km in 2004 to 91,287 km in 2014 and 1,46145 km in 2024.
National highway stretches across more than four lanes have increased 2.6 times from 18,371 km in 2014 to 48.422 km in 2024. Operational High-Speed Corridors increased from 93 km in 2014 to 2,138 km in 2024. National highway construction pace rose 2.8 times from 12.1 km/day in 2014-15 to 33.8 km/day in 2023-24.
(With inputs from ANI)
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