Keeping an eye on the upcoming assembly elections in Kerala, West Bengal and Assam, Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech announced an allocation of funds for roads and highway projects.
To be specific, the finance minister allocated Rs 65,000 crore for road and highway projects in Kerala and Rs 25,000 crore for West Bengal and Rs 3,400 crore for road infrastructure development in Assam.
Sitharaman also announced that work will start soon on the Phase-II of Kochi Metro Railway which would be 11.5 km long and cost Rs 1,957.05 crore. She added that an enhanced outlay of Rs 1,18,101 crore had been kept for ports and highways.“I have also provided an enhanced outlay of Rs 1,18,101 crore for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, of which, Rs 1,08,230 crore is for capital – the highest ever provided,” she said.
Sitharaman further said the government would award 8,500 kms of road projects and an additional 11,000 kms of national highway corridors by March 2022 and also announced an Rs 18,000-crore scheme to augment public transport in urban areas, adding that more economic corridors are also being planned.
