Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said the government's aim is to accelerate the pace of highway construction to 100 km a day from 38 km/day at present.
Speaking at the Business Today India@100 event, Gadkari said so far this year, the road ministry has awarded highways projects worth Rs 2.5 lakh crore, and by March next year, it will award highways projects worth Rs 10 lakh crore.
"Currently, the pace of National Highways construction in India is 38 km/day. We aim to accelerate the pace of highway construction to 100 km a day. This is our target, whether it will happen next year, I can not say," he said.
The ministry constructed 10,660 km of national highways in 2024-25, 12,349 km in 2023-24 and 10,331 km in 2022-23.
Responding to the growing concern over social media about E20, rolled out by the government, is damaging the vehicle and there is no reduction in fuel cost, Gadkari rejected the claim, saying that the petroleum sector is lobbying against this move.
"I challenge, if anyone has faced difficulty in his vehicle on account of mixing of ethanol in petrol," Gadkari, who is known for his frank views, said.
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