The Hindu : Business : Highway projects cost goes up

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 04, 2004

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Business

Highway projects cost goes up

By Our Special Correspondent

KOLKATA, AUG. 3. The cost of National Highways Development Project has increased to Rs 65,000 crores from Rs. 54,000 crores, the Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, T. R. Baalu, said today. Stretches under this project linking Chennai to Kolkata and Mumbai and Delhi with Kolkata and Mumbai had already been completed.

Addressing a press conference here, he said the original cost of the project was earlier fixed at 1999 prices and had to be adjusted for inflation.

The project was being implemented by the National Highways Authority of India, which was set up in 1995.

Golden Quadrilateral

The schemes include the Golden Quadrilateral project that connects the four metros through a 5,846 km long network and the north-south east-west corridor.

This stretches from Porbandar to Silchar and from Kashmir to Kanyakumari with a total length of 7,300 km. About 47.5 per cent of the project had been completed

Mr. Baalu said contracts for the remaining part would be placed within this fiscal and the entire project was likely to be completed by 2007.

NHAI officials told The Hindu that the estimated cost of these contracts was Rs 35,000 crores. Mr. Baalu assured that a change of Government at the Centre would not result in reopening of earlier contracts. The project is being financed by the cess on petrol and diesel, assistance from the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, market borrowing and private sector participation on build-operate and transfer basis.

Sagarmala project

To a question on the Sagarmala project, the Minister said the Rs. 100,000 crore project would be put before the Cabinet for its approval within this fiscal year.

The project, which envisaged increased tonnage for Indian ports through improved navigability of the major ports and the setting up of new minor ports, had not been shelved but it would have to be implemented through the public-private partnership model, given the huge funds requirement.

Mr. Baalu, who was here to discuss the progress of highway projects in West Bengal said he was happy with pace of work in this State.

Review meeting

PTI reports:

The Union Transport Ministry would review its schemes including the one on national highways in the northeast in Shillong tomorrow and the Union Road Transport Minister, T. R. Baalu, would take stock of the situation in the region.

Mr. Baalu would also have a meeting with the Meghalaya Chief Minister, D. D. Lapang, here, the sources said.

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