NEW DELHI: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Union Budget speech said contracts for implementation of multimodal logistics parks at 4 locations to be awarded in 2022-23 in PPP (public private partnership) Mode.
She also said that the government has said a target for highway network to grow by 25,000 km in FY 2022-23. "Under PM Gatishakti master plan, national highway network will be expanded by 25,000 kms in 2022-23; Rs 20,000 crores will be mobilised through innovative ways of financing to complement public resources" said Sitharaman.
Commenting on this announcement, Nilaya Varma, Co-founder & CEO, Primus Partners (a management consultancy firm), said "In the long run, a lot of road traffic has to move to other means for logistic efficiency and sustainable climate."
"In that context the emphasis on multi modal transport is very important. Having said that this transition will take time and therefore the expansion of 25000 km of National Highway will not only help drive efficiency in economy but help drive employments at local levels," he added.
The Finance minister also said that that Ken-Betwa river link project to be taken at cost of Rs 44,605 crore which will benefit 900,000 farmers. She added that draft DPR (detailed project report) for five river links finalised.