Video: Paresh Gandhi; Text: Suman Guha Mozumder in New York
"We have decided to build 20 km of roads every day and then take it to 7,000 km a year. Therefore, if we lose more days (in terms of putting foreign investment in place), it will be a great loss," Union Minister of Surface Transport Kamal Nath told a gathering of 100-odd potential investors and entrepreneurs at the Indian Consulate in New York on Tuesday.
He said the government will complete the process of changing some of the rules and regulations relating to investment in the road sector by the end of this month to make it more attractive for financiers.
"Therefore by the end of the month -- that is, in exactly another 15 days -- we would have removed all the irritants and resolved the concerns of prospective investors," Nath said in response to a question by rediff.com.
Nath is in the United States for a week, capping off a world roadshow to revive interest in foreign investment in India's massive infrastructure development, particularly, roads and highways.
India's road network of 3.32 million (33.2 lakh) km is second only to the US and needs drastic overhaul.
Asked to spell out the concerns of prospective investors, Nath said that foreign investors are particularly worried about the termination and exit clauses.
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