Developing roads in NE is top priority : Gadkari
Source: The Sangai Express / Manipur Info Centre

New Delhi, January 28 2015: The Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari has said that developing roads in the North East and border areas is a top priority of the Government.

He launched the logo and website of National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) at a function here today.

Speaking at the occasion, he said that the Corporation, based on the idea of e-governance, will be an instrument for creation and management of infrastructure of the highest standard in the country with focus on the North East and border areas and contribute significantly towards Nation building.

The formation would boost the initiatives towards capacity building among stakeholders as well as generate employment for the youth of the areas, he added.

He further said that every road should be economically viable and, therefore, his Ministry has been trying to address the problems in land acquisition, environment clearance, rail bridge construction etc simultaneously at the level of project management consultancy.

Nitin Gadkari at the launch of the logo of NHIDCL

The National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation is a fully owned company of the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India incorporated on July 18, last year.

The company envisages to promote, survey, establish, design, build, operate, maintain and upgrade National Highways and other infrastructure including interconnecting roads particularly in the North Eastern region and strategic areas of the country.

The regional connectivity so enhanced would promote cross border trade and commerce and help safeguard India's international borders.

The infrastructure so created would lead to the formation of a more integrated and economically consolidated South and South East Asia.

In addition, this would also lead to overall economic benefits for the local population and help integrate the peripheral areas with the mainstream in a more robust manner.

An approximate aggregate length of 10,000 kms has been identified to begin with for development through this company.

In the first phase, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has entrusted 60 works to the company for constructing 3586 Kms at a total cost of Rs 34300 crore.

The Minister also released NHIDCL's website, www.nhidcl.com and unveiled company's e-book hosted on the same site.

The function also marked the release of the company's first tender pertaining to the improvement to 2 lane NH standards of Akajan-Likabali-Bame Road in Arunachal Pradesh with an estimated cost of Rs 272 crore.

The function was also attended by Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, and ex-officio Chairman, NHIDCL Vijay Chhibber, Managing Director, NHIDCL Anand Kumar and Director (A&F) of NHIDCL Sanjay Jaju.