Gadkari encourages the industry to adopt water transport
The Government is formulating a new model to allow small investors to invest in infrastructure projects such as InvITs which will soon be listed on the stock exchanges, Road Transport and Highway Minister Nitin Gadkari said on 23 Aug 2022.
“(The Government) will soon list InvITs on the stock market so that retail investors can trade units (of InvITs), offering an opportunity to common citizens to invest in the infrastructure projects,” he told the ‘3rd edition of Roads and Highways Summit’, organised by FICCI.
“The InvITs assure a 7-8% return,” he underlined.
Elaborating, Gadkari highlighted that National Highways at 1.47 lakh kilometres are just about 2.3% of the overall road network, but was quick to add that, “before the end of 2024, we will take national highway network to two lakh kilometres.”
He pointed out that need to expand the National Highway network as these routes carry about 70% of cargo and 90% passenger traffic in the country.
The Minister also acknowledged logistics costs as the critical challenge to country trade, exports and business.
The current logistic costs in the country range from 14% to 16% as to 12% in Europe and the US, as well as 8% to 10% in China. “My target is to reduced it to 10%.”
Gadkari also encouraged the industry to adopt water transport.
“Our first priority is for waterways, second for railway, third road and fourth aviation.”
He highlighted that waterways cost one-tenth of the road transport.
He also alluded to alternative fuels like LNG, bio-ethanol and green hydrogen for the transportation sector.
“Ethanol, methanol, biodiesel, bio-LNG, bio-CNG, electric and green hydrogen will substitute crude oil imports, as these alternative fuels are cost-effective, pollution-free and can save your (industry’s) logistic cost.”
Shailesh Pathak, Co-Chairman, FICCI Transport Infrastructure Committee, highlighted the need to ensure progress in the movement of trucks.
“When the road gets built, how do we move the truck faster compared to a car, is more about enforcement in the states,” he told the summit. fiinews.com
