India Now World’s 2nd Largest Road Network at 5.8 Million Kilometer

New Delhi: Union Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways Gen (Retd) VK Singh has said the Government is focused on aligning national standards for design, construction, maintenance and operation of roads, bridges and flyovers with global standards. He said, this will bring down the cost of construction, while maintaining high standards of quality through adoption of innovative technologies and materials for road construction.

Addressing a FICCI conference on New and Emerging Technologies in Road Construction here today, Singh hailed the participation of private sector in development of road infrastructure in the country. He said increased industrial activities have supported the overall growth of the transport sector, adding that the Government’s policy of increasing private participation has yielded positive results, with India becoming the world’s second largest road network of 5.8 million km.

Singh said that nearly 65% of all goods in the country are transported through roads, while 90% of the total passenger traffic uses road network to commute. He said the Government is committed to building quality roads and highways in the country.

He referred to the Bharatmala Pariyojana, which aims at building over 66,000 km of economic corridors, border and coastal roads, and expressways to boost the highway network.

The Pariyajana envisages to provide 4-lane connectivity to 550 districts, increase vehicular speed by 20-25%, and reduce the supply chain cost by 5-6%, said Singh.

Image Courtesy: New Indian Express