New Delhi: India has made a great achievement in the road network section and has overtaken its neighbor China to become the 2nd country in the world with the largest road network.
India has the reputation of having the largest road network apart from America. Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that since 2014, India has overtaken China to the second position by constructing 1.45 lakh km of roads.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari held a press conference on Tuesday and unveiled the achievements made in this regard during his tenure and said that India has the second largest road network in the world. India has added several greenfield expressways. Many expressways have been built in India in the last 9 years. The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, which is the longest highway in India, is almost completed. 9 years ago India’s road network was 91,287 km. Nitin Gadkari said that the National Highways Authority has constructed many highways and expressways during his tenure.
Since April 2019, more than 30,000 km of highways have been constructed across the country. Delhi-Meerut Link Highway, Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow and Ghazipur Highway are among these. Gadkari said that the National Highways Authority has created around 7 world records during his tenure. In May this year, 100 km expressway was constructed in just 100 hours. This record was made during the construction of Ghaziabad-Aligarh Expressway. Guinness World Records is also an authority by completing 75 km of concrete road on NH 53 in just 105 hours and 33 minutes.
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As of April 2019, NHAI has constructed more than 30,000 km of highways across the country, including major expressways connecting Delhi with Meerut or Lucknow with Gazipur in UP. Gadkari also mentioned NHAI’s contribution of setting seven world records during this period.
Gadkari claimed that revenue from highways has also increased during his tenure. The toll collection has increased to Rs 41,342 crores from just Rs 4777 crores 9 years ago. Gadkari said that the government’s target is to increase the toll revenue to 1.30 lakh crore.
