Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari today proposed the setting up of an “Innovation Bank” for new ideas, research findings and technologies to focus on ‘Quality’ in infrastructure development.
Virtually addressing the inaugural function of the 222nd mid-term council meeting of the Indian Roads Congress (IRC), he said innovation should be the focus area for all engineers. He said the IRC should develop a World-class state-of-art laboratory with the help of IITs and global institutions in the world.
Advertisement
Gadkari said infrastructure development has an important role in fulfilling the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make India a 5 trillion-dollar economy and Road infrastructure is directly linked to the prosperity of that region. He said the road infrastructure connects people, culture and society and brings prosperity through socio-economic development.
The minister said in the last 8 years, the length of National Highways has gone up by more than 50% from 91,000 km in 2014 to about 1.47 Lakh km now. He said the government is dedicated to working toward expanding the National Highway network to 2 lakh km by 2025. “In the last 8 years, our team has created multiple world records,” he added.
Gadkari said the nation was ready to adopt the world’s best and most successful technology and new materials for construction. He said the use of proven technology and reduction in construction costs were the two most important driving forces for the government. “We need to reduce the cost of construction while maintaining quality,” he added.