Thirty six cement makers have assured supplies of 95 lakh tonnes at prices lower than market rates for road building in the country, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said today.
"Thirty-six cement manufacturers have committed to supplying 95 lakh tonnes through their 103 plants pan India at prices up to Rs 180 a bag against a market price of over Rs 300 a bag. This would boost road building and result in huge savings of crores of rupees," the Road Transport and Highways Minister told reporters here.
The Ministry has decided to build concrete cement roads in place of traditional bitumen roads. Cement roads are cost-effective and require less maintenance, he said.
"This will give a push to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Make in India vision," he said, adding that cement is manufactured indigenously whereas bitumen is imported and costlier too.
"It is going to be a revolutionary step in the construction industry's history and would save crores of rupees," he said. A portal has been launched wherein a central or state government agency could register and procure cement directly from suppliers on cheaper rates on "cash and carry basis".
He said the method for making available cement through the portal was transparent and left no scope for corruption.
"Rajasthan government has already decided to build 2,000 km of village roads in the state using cement and concrete," he said adding, "I appeal to all state governments to utilise the facility in the larger interest of nation building and its development," Gadkari said.
He said cheaper cement and iron ore slag would also help translate Modi's dream of providing the poor affordable housing.
He said, he will also appeal to the Rural Development Minister to build cement and concrete roads under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana.
Gadkari also said that concrete roads would also be built in extreme Left-wing affected areas along with pre-fabricated material with the help of the army's engineering wing.
He said his Ministry was confident of achieving the target of building 30 kms of roads a day even before March 2016 and is set to construct 15 km a day by the end of this fiscal.
Earlier, he launched "INAM - PRO, the Platform for Infrastructure and Materials Providers" here.
No comments:
Post a Comment