Expressway Authority

The government plans to set up an expressway authority for the speedy execution of expressway projects, road transport & highways minister Kamal Nath said on Tuesday. The ministry will prepare a paper on setting up the expressway authority in the next three months. “We are examining the possibility of setting up an expressway authority, similar to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI),” he said on the sidelines of an industry meeting organised by the confederation of Indian industry (CII). The government will also involve state governments and private investors in building the expressways, Mr Nath said. The ministry is looking at various alternatives to finance the road sector projects. “India remains a very good destination for investments and we are looking at innovative ways of financing such as equity financing, debt financing and pension fund financing,” he said. The ministry has also proposed to set up a road finance corporation on the lines of the power finance corporation. It is aimed at increasing government spending on roads and providing cheaper credit. But the Planning Commission has rejected the proposal. It said the existing funding streams, including India infrastructure finance corporation, are sufficient to support planned investments in the sector. NHAI plans to take road construction to 8-10 km a day from the present 4 km a day, NHAI chairman Brijeshwar Singh said at the meeting. NHAI intends to increase its road building capacity to 20 km a day within next 12-18 months, he added.