NEW DELHI: Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari has said that use of steel and cement should be reduced in road construction without comprising on quality through innovation and research. Addressing 16th Annual Conference on “Road Development in India” he saidCNG, LNG and ethanol should be used for the road equipment machinery. The Minister emphasized  onimport substitution, cost effective, pollution free and indigenous methods and development of alternative fuel

Nitin Gadkari said India with about 63 lakh kms of road network is the second largest road network in the world. He said road infrastructure plays a critical role in the growth of the economy as 70 percent of the goods and nearly 90 percent of passenger traffic  uses roads to commute. Gadkari said Prime Minister has set a vision for India to become a 5 trillion dollar economy in next five years.  He said Government is investing 1.4 trillion dollars i.e. Rs 111 lakh crores in infrastructure development through national infrastructure pipeline,further this year, Government has increased year on year infrastructure capex by 34 percent to Rs. 5.54 lakh crores. Gadkari said increased investment in infrastructure  would help create employment during covidpandemic. The ministersaid  hisaim was to construct 60,000 km world class national highway at the rate of 40 km per day.