Nitin Gadkari pushes for faster highway spending

New Delhi: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said India has the potential to mobilize up to Rs8 lakh crore annually for road infrastructure, but emphasized that the key challenge lies in the slow pace of spending. Speaking at the listing ceremony of an NHAI-sponsored infrastructure investment trust at the Bombay Stock Exchange, Gadkari stressed that highways play a critical role in driving socio-economic growth.

He noted that every Rs1 spent on infrastructure generates nearly Rs3 worth of economic activity, underlining the sector’s multiplier effect. According to Gadkari, the government can raise about Rs5 lakh crore per year from the market, supported by strong highway assets, in addition to Rs3.2 lakh crore in budgetary allocations.

Citing the example of the Dwarka Expressway near Delhi, Gadkari highlighted how infrastructure development catalyzes investment, noting that the project has attracted over Rs8 lakh crore in real estate investments. He also announced that projects worth Rs40,000 crore in and around Pune, including the Pune-Aurangabad Expressway, will see ground-breaking in the coming weeks.

Among future plans, the minister revealed a proposed Mumbai-Bengaluru expressway aimed at reducing travel time between the two cities to just five hours. On the long-delayed Mumbai-Goa highway, he said 93% of the work is complete and the project is expected to be finished within two months, with land acquisition cited as a key hurdle. Gadkari acknowledged that highway construction speed has declined to 32–34 km per day from 40 km earlier, against a target of 60 km per day. He also highlighted ongoing efforts to modernize tolling systems, including converting 900 toll plazas into multi-lane free-flow systems, which are expected to save over Rs8,000 crore annually.