Despite the global economic recession, India is expected to register around 8% GDP by March 2010 and the government intends to accelerate the economic growth further over the coming years. For this, the government has already emphasised on robust infrastructure development in the Union Budget 2009-10.

In an attempt to actively promote the infrastructure growth, Kamal Nath, the minister for road transport and highways, has already taken up the challenge and has been successful in quadrupling construction of highways over the past 6 months. Besides, Mr Nath has managed to pace up construction of new roads from 2 km a day to 9 km per day at present, which is a 400% jump. 

Currently, the country boasts of 70,500 km network of highways, which makes it the second largest road network globally, after the US. To ramp up the road infrastructure further and to boost the GDP growth, Mr Nath targets to add another 28,000 km of roads by 2014. Moreover, the minister also plans to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Malaysia for road construction in India.

“Although some industry experts are considering the minister’s plan to be too ambitious, I find it realistic, especially because the measures undertaken by Mr Nath including friendly investor policies, introduction of stringent penalty rules for firms missing on deadlines and inviting reputed global firms to help in developing world-class roads,” says Umesh Gupta, proprietor of JDP Construction Pvt. Ltd, a mid-sized construction firm in Ghaziabad.

Special focus on Karnataka

In a recent press conference, Mr Nath said that the Centre plans to lay special focus on road development in Karnataka, especially Bengaluru, in order to bridge its infrastructure deficit. For this, the UPA government has already sanctioned Rs 18,000 crore for undertaking various road development projects across the state over the coming 4 years. The projects include construction of 1,869 km of roads, development of a 15-km stretch on the National Highway 234 that links two towns, Madhugiri with Gauribidanur and construction of a 22-km stretch between Hebbal and Devanahalli, among others.

“The government’s decision to lay special emphasis on Karnataka has certainly uplifted the mood of most construction firms in South India,” says Ashok Reddy, managing partner of Vel Tech Constructions, a mid-sized construction firm in Hyderabad. Mr Reddy further added that Mr Nath has been successful in luring foreign investors at a time when the global economy is just reviving.

However, economists, analysts and industry experts all opine that the UPA government needs to strictly address key issues such as land acquisition problems and corruption to scale up infrastructure development in India.

Jeeta Bandopadhyay