New India Investment Agreements Take Holistic Approach to Spur Infrastructure Growth
5 May 2017
India has signed investment agreements worth INR 2 lakh crore ($31 million) as part of a holistic approach to spur infrastructure growth, according to Mr. Nitin Gadkari, Road Transport and Shipping Minister, India.
India signed a total of 34 agreements at the Integrated Transport and Logistics Summit, which opened on 4 May 2017 in New Delhi, India. More than 15 of those agreements involve setting up of multi-modal logistics parks by state governments, along with the National Highways Authority of India and the Container Corporation of India. Agreements for port connectivity and land ports were also signed.
India needs to develop integrated logistics using rail, road, or water transport, that would allow flowers from Sikkim, oranges from Nagpur, Alphonso mangoes from Konkan, lychees from Bihar, grapes from Nasik, and apples from Himachal to reach the world market, said Mr. Gadkari at the Summit.
Logistics costs in India are high at 18%, said Mr. Gadkari. Bringing logistics costs down to 12% could increase exports and help achieve double-digit growth for India’s gross domestic product, he added.
Work on at least 10 waterways will begin this year. The Government of India is also improving the national highway network through six corridors, namely the four legs of the Golden Quadrilateral corridor and the North-South and East-West corridors.
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