Gadkari Favours 51% Majority Stake For Foreign Partners In JV For Construction
Gadkari, further said that despite the requirement for the technical and financial parameters to be ample, they shoud not come at the cost of quality.
The Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, expressed approval for giving a majority stake of 51% to foreign partners in joint ventures for building tunnels and detailed project reports to improve work quality.
Gadkari said providing a majority stake to a foreign partner in the joint venture is required in order to make sure only serious and technically qualified players bid for tunnel projects.
"I seriously feel that foreign partners must have a 51% stake, leaving 49% for the Indian companies in JV for creating detailed project reports and construction of tunnels to ensure that work is done properly," the minister said at an event.
Gadkari further said that despite the requirement for the technical and financial parameters to be ample, they should not come at the cost of quality.
"I probably should not be using the word 'culprit' but I will. DPR (detailed project report) makers are the 'culprits' for their lack of oversight during the process of constructing tunnels, which often leads to landslides that are increasing in India annually," he said.
The minister said there is a need to find a permanent solution to deal with the issue of frequent landslides in Uttarakhand and other Himalayan areas.
Gadkari also said that if the country can reduce logistics costs to 9%, then its exports will increase by 1.5 times.
The logistics cost in India ranged from 7.8% to 8.9% of gross domestic product in 2021–22, according to quick estimates of the economic think tank National Council of Applied Economic Research.
(With Inputs From PTI)
