National highway network to expand to 2L kms by 2025

Union Road Transport Minister, Nitin Gadkari, announced that the Indian national highway network will cover 2 lakh kilometres within 3 years’ time. He said, “The Indian government is working toward the development of a national highway network of 2 lakh kilometres by 2025”. He further added that the Centre is developing 22 greenfield access control expressways to reduce travel time. He was speaking about the role of infrastructure development in realising India’s $5 trillion economy goal and said, apart from cutting down travel time and fuel cost, highways also help in economic development of a region.
This will be achieved through multi-modal connectivity that will provide seamless connectivity for the movement of people, goods and services from one mode of transport to another. Apart from speaking about the expansion of the Indian national highway network, the Union minister also claimed the Centre wants to bring down the cost of logistics to 10 percent from the current 14-16 percent of GDP.
“It (cost of logistics in GDP) is 8-10 percent in China and 12 percent in European countries. If we bring this down to 10-12 percent in India, we can compete well in the international market,” Gadkari stated.
Gadkari is also looking to raise the speed limit on national expressways from 120 km/hr to 140 km/hr, since expressways in India are currently being constructed to ensure safety and to prevent animals from entering them.