Centre developing waterways : Gadkari

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Moubhandar (Jharkhand), Jan 28: The government was developing water ways to ease the traffic on road, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday.      

The country was registering an increase of 10 to 12 per cent in number of vehicles per annum, the minister said after laying the foundation of 72-km long Mahulia-Baharagora National highway, built at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore. 

The Centre had plans to expand the water network as the country was utilising only 3.5 per cent of waterways compared to China’s 47 per cent and South Korea and Japan’s 43 and 44 per cent respectively, he said. 

The minister said five water ways would be developed on rivers including Ganga, Bramhaputra, Mahanadi, backwater of Kerala while two multi-model water ports would be established on Ganga in Sahebgunj of Jharkhand and Varanasi (UP).      

The port in Sahebgunj would be developed at a cost of Rs 500 crore, he said announcing that the government would pour in Rs 50,000 crore on various road projects including highways and ports by December.      

“We will release the fund for the purpose as soon as the state government submits its Detailed Project Report of the proposed projects,” he said.      

Regarding the highway projects, Gadkari said the government has earmarked 95 lakh tonnes of cement for the purpose.      

On the issue of rise in cement prices, he had convened a meeting of cement producers and finalised the prices, which would cost Rs 120-140 per bag, Gadkari said.       

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Out of the ten cement plants in the country, seven are producing cement totalling about 60 million tonnes, he said.

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