Govt may reduce borrowing costs for infra projects

NEW DELHI: India is keen to reduce the cost of borrowing for infrastructure projects, especially in roadways and highways and in building smart cities, Nitin Gadkari, minister for road transport, highways and shipping, said at the Economic Summit.

Gadkari wrote to finance minister Arun Jaitley last week, seeking to shore up finances to fund road projects. A committee of secretaries set up to look into the hurdles delaying the projects is likely to meet soon.

The government also reiterated its commitment to build 30 km of roads per day, over the next two years, despite the current slow rate of 3 km per day.

The minister highlighted the roadblocks faced by his ministry including existing archaic laws and regulation in developing smart cities. “There is a need for an integrated multimodal transport mechanism. We are in the process of finalising a uniform policy for road development.”

The industry also called for an end to red-tape.

Ajit Gulabchand, CMD, Hindustan Construction Company, appealed for the development of an integrated system for project approvals. “An integrated system will help reduce

WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF FINALISING A UNIFORM POLICY FOR ROAD DEVELOPMENT

NITIN GADKARI, transport minister

the time and cost in building projects that have a direct impact on growth,” he said.

Mitsubishi Corp chairman Yorihiko Kojima also said it was difficult to do business in India as “different states have different regulations and taxation.”

Japanese firms such as Mitsubishi were keenly looking forward to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assurances given during his visit to Japan in September to bring about a change in the system, he said, adding that India is a key investment destination for the company.

“We have identified a number of infrastructure projects and are closely working with the Delhi Metro Rail Corp to improve and expand the network,” he said.

Expressing similar sentiment, Mahindra Group chairman and MD Anand Mahindra said once infrastructure projects get going, investments will start flowing in.