Business News
Infra sector gets an allocation of close to ₹ 6 lakh cr
Over ₹ 50 lakh crore investment needed to build network of roads, airports, railways, ports and inland waterways, says Finance Minister
The Budget 2018-19 has an allocation of ₹ 5.97 lakh crore for infrastructure, a sector that the government considers as the growth driver of the economy.
Estimating an over ₹ 50 lakh crore investment to increase the GDP growth and connect the nation with a network of roads, airports, railways, ports and inland waterways, finance minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday announced an increase of budgetary allocation on infrastructure for 2018-19 to ₹ 5.97 lakh crore against estimated expenditure of ₹ 4.94 lakh crore in 2017-18.
The finance ministry will leverage the India Infrastructure Finance Corporation Limited (IIFCL) to help finance major infrastructure projects, he added.
Expressing confidence regarding completing National Highways exceeding 9,000 kilometres during 2017-18, he said the under the ‘Bharatmala Pariyojana’, for seamless connectivity of interior and backward areas and borders of the country, about 35,000 kms road construction would be carried out in Phase-I at an estimated cost of ₹ 5.35 lakh crore.
To raise equity from the market for its mature road assets, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will consider organising its road assets into Special Purpose Vehicles and use innovative monetising structures like Toll, Operate and Transfer and Infrastructure Investment Funds, Mr. Jaitley said. The government said for bodies like NHAI and Metro, it has given permission to raise bonds from the market.
To enhance connectivity in border areas, the Finance Minister said the Government will take up construction of tunnel under Sela Pass.
There is also an outlay of Rs 1100 crore in FY’19 for development of Industrial Corridors. This will go towards substantial completion of development of trunk infrastructure including roads and services, administrative and business centre, water treatment plant, common effluent treatment plant and sewage treatment plant in Dholera Special Investment Region, Shendra Bidkin Industrial Area, Dighi Port Industrial Area, Multi Modal Logistics Hub, Nangal Chaudhury (Haryana), Vikram Udyogpuri (in Ujjain). The government said it expects allotment of plots measuring 350 hectares to industrial units by March 2019. “Development of infrastructure facilities in the region(s) would open avenues for development of greenfield industrial area and provide impetus for further development of the region(s),” it added.
Chanda Kochhar, MD and CEO, ICICI Bank, said in a statement that “the Government has maintained its focus on creating infrastructure with an aim to catapult India onto a higher and sustainable growth path. The allocations for roads and railways are at all-time highs, which will have a positive impact on related sectors as well.”
