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Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said here on Friday that at the end of 2024 our national highway road network will be equivalent to the road network of the USA.
Gadkari was addressing the ET NOW Global Business Summit 2024, outlining a vision for revolutionizing India's infrastructure landscape. In his address, Gadkari emphasized the pivotal role of robust infrastructure in driving economic growth and development across various sectors. "If we need capital investment, development in the industry, we should have good infrastructure. Water, Power, Transport and Communication. Without infrastructure we cannot develop our agriculture, service industry, tourism and there is the most important thing that after 2014 when Modiji became the Prime Minister of this country, he has decided to give highest priority to the development of infrastructure in the country", Gadkari asserted. He underscored the significant strides made in infrastructure development since 2014, underlining Prime Minister Modi's unwavering commitment to this crucial sector. Gadkari revealed ambitious plans to expand the National Highway road network, aiming to match the scale of the road network in the USA by the end of 2024. Gadkari said, "At the end of 2024 our National Highway Road network will be equivalent to the road network of USA". Highlighting specific projects, he announced plans to significantly reduce the distance between Delhi and Chennai by 320 km. "From Delhi to Chennai we are going to reduce the distance by 320 km. After express highway going to Surat, there will be connectivity to Nasik, Nasik to Ahmednagar, Ahmednagar to Solapur, Solapur to Kurnool, and Kurnool to Trivandrum, Kochin, Kanyakumari, Hyderabad and Chennai. For Chennai you don't need to go to Mumbai and Pune", said Gadkari. The proposed express highway from Surat will enhance connectivity to key cities like Nasik, Ahmednagar, Solapur, Kurnool, Trivandrum, Kochi, Kanyakumari, Hyderabad, and Chennai, streamlining transportation routes and fostering regional development. "When we decided to make India as a developed country, we are the fastest growing economy in the world and the dream of the Prime minister to make Indian economy the third largest economy in the world, for that we need to develop world standard infrastructure in the country and we are trying our level best", Gadkari emphasized. Addressing the critical issue of fossil fuel imports, Gadkari outlined innovative initiatives aimed at promoting sustainable practices in energy production. He elaborated on efforts to produce biofuels from agricultural residues such as rice straw, highlighting the establishment of a facility in Panipat in collaboration with Indian Oil for the production of sustainable aviation fuel from rice straw. "We are making bitumen from Rice straw (parali). The sustainable aviation fuel, we have already started the project in Panipat with Indian Oil and they are using Parali (Rice straw) having capacity of 1 lac liter of ethanol per day, 150 ton of Bio Bitumen per day and 76,000 ton per year bio aviation fuel that is sustainable aviation fuel. Now we are making ethanol from sugarcane juice, B Molasses, C Molasses, from corn and rice and all the food grains," Gadkari explained. He also highlighted the establishment of a factory in Nomaligarh, Assam, focused on producing ethanol from bamboo, further illustrating the government's commitment to sustainability and innovation. "In Nomaligarh, Assam we have started a factory where they are making ethanol from bamboo", said Gadkari. Gadkari's address at the summit underscored the government's determination to propel India's infrastructure development to unprecedented heights. With ambitious projects and innovative strategies in place, India is poised to emerge as a global leader in infrastructure excellence, driving economic growth and prosperity for its citizens. (ANI)
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