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| Fact Sheet |
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ROADS
India has the Second largest road network in the world. The country’s total road length is over 3.3 million-km. Five year plans have laid emphasis on a coordinated and balanced development of road network in the country under (I) Primary road system covering National Highways; (II) Secondary and feeder road systems covering State Highways and Major District Roads, and (III) Rural roads including Village Roads and Other District Roads.
Freight transport by road has risen from 6 BTK (Billion Tonne Km) in 1951 to 762 BTK in 1995 and passenger traffic has risen from 23 BPK (Billion-Passenger Km) to 2238 BPK during the same period. Freight and passenger traffic is expected to increase to 1136 BTK and 3289 BPK respectively, by the year 2001. The annual growth of traffic is 8 to 10%. Motor vehicle population has grown from 0.3 million in 1951 to 33.8 million during 1996, marking a 110 fold increase. During the same period, the road network has expanded from 0.4 million km to 3.3 million km., i.e. only an 8-fold increase in road length
GROWTH OF MOTOR VEHICLE
NATIONAL HIGHWAY:
The most important roads in the network in India are the National Highways which run through the length and breadth of the country connecting ports, State Capitals, industrial & tourist centres and adjacent countries. They constitute only 2% of the total road network, but carry nearly 40% of the total road traffic. Their growth has been rather gradual, from 22,255 km in 1951 to 52010 km by March, 2000. The Twenty Year Road Development Plan (1981-2001) recommended total length of 66,000 km by the year 2001 for the National Highway network.
Ministry has assessed the need to build 2000 km of expressways on very selective basis where traffic density is exceptionally high and upgrade the road system in the country by widening and strengthening existing highways, reconstruction/widening bridges, and constructing expressways.
It is estimated that around 1,20,000 crores are required for removing deficiencies on National Highways phased in 10-15 years period.
While Government has been providing budgetary allocations for priority projects in the highway sector and undertaking major upgradation initiatives in high-density corridors, much higher investments are required to bring the network to the desired level of serviceability. As there are a number of companies in India already engaged in road construction and other allied services, the possibilities for foreign investors to have suitable tie-ups with local partners are good.
PRIVATE PARTICIPATION
In 1991, Government decided to liberalize and globalize the infrastructure sectors for private and foreign investment including the roads, ports and the inland water transportation. Policy guidelines were spelt out for encouraging private investment following which investment has started flowing into these sectors. The Ministry of Surface Transport also identified areas for private sector participation on Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis. The Government has amended the National Highways Act, 1956, which provides the legal framework for private sector participation. Under the amended Act, it is possible to:
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