The Hindu : Front Page : Wayside amenity centres to be set up along National Highways

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 26, 2006

Front Page

Front Page

Wayside amenity centres to be set up along National Highways

Staff Reporter

Baalu outlines roadmap for infrastructure development

Tuticorin: The Central Government would focus on establishment of wayside amenities along National Highways and reduce traffic congestion on highways by improving infrastructure to make road travel pleasurable, said T.R. Baalu, Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways.

Speaking to mediapersons here on Saturday, he said wayside amenity centres would be set up along every 50-km stretch, with parking facility, food courts and rest rooms.

"Two such centres are functioning on the Vadodara-Mumbai highway, in association with the Reliance group; plans are afoot to auction a few more sites to private parties before the end of this fiscal."

He said the Ministry had chalked out an elaborate plan to develop the National Highways at an outlay of Rs.1,75,000 crore by 2011-12. It includes six laning of 6,500 km, laying 1,000 km of expressways, widening 7,639 km in the northeast and improvement of 10,000 km under National Highway Development Project-III.

Mr. Baalu said Cabinet approval had been received for upgradation of 4,000 km under the NHDP Phase-III and the Ministry was preparing a detailed project report for the remaining 6,000 km.

"Once these projects are over, we will be able to remove the bottlenecks on the National Highways, which carry 40 per cent of the total road traffic in the country," he said.

The Minister said the Centre was drafting a `toll policy' for roads built on build-operate-transfer (BOT) mode.

Mr. Baalu said the Centre planned to enhance facilities in the port sector at an estimated cost of Rs. 55,803 crores by 2011-12, and in the shipping sector at an outlay of Rs. 44,435 crore by 2024-25. In the port sector, the focus would be on establishing more terminals, modern handling systems and deepening of channels. In the shipping sector, thrust would be on purchase of navigational aids, 76 vessels and improvement of inland water transport.

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