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Minister moots Highways Authority, foreign investment in expressway projects

Union Surface Transport Minister M Thambidurai today said the Centre had decided to introduce a bill in the coming Parliament session to establish the National Express Highways Authority of India to develop the expressway concept in the country.

Talking to newsmen in Tirucharapalli, he said the Centre had identified 11,500 kilometres of existing roads in various parts of the country which could be developed as express highways, including the Tuticorin-Madras highway.

He said he had requested Prime Minister A B Vajpayee to convene a world congress on development of expressway and road system to attract foreign investments in the express highway sector in the country.

He said he had prevailed upon Vajpayee to allow foreign investment in the highway projects. The port development authorities and the automobile sector would also be asked to contribute their share to the projects. They would be allowed to levy special taxes on the land situated near the expressways to mobilse funds for the projects, he added.

The expressways were the only other alternative for impoving the transport system and should be formed at the earliest, he added.

Thambidurai said the Centre would write to all chief ministers for acquisition of lands for the proposed expressway projects. Those states which provided land and other infrastructural facilities would get priority for implementing the projects.

UNI