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Nitin Gadkari to seek infra investment during his week-long US visit
Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari will invite investments in ports, ship building and coastal economics zones during his week long visit to the US.
“Indo-US cooperation in the vital infrastructure sector will get a new impetus when (the minister) holds official talks with his counter-part US Secretary of Transportation, Anthony Foxx in Washington tomorrow, on a wide range of projects of mutual interest”, an official statement said.
The minister will be “particularly looking” for widening and deepening the scope of Indo-US cooperation in innovative technologies for improving highway development, road engineering, road safety and development of green fuels in automobile sector and electric vehicles, it said.
During his interaction with the US captains of trade and industry and pioneers in the maritime sector, he will highlight investment opportunities in Indian maritime sector.
He will invite US investments in building ports, port-led industrialization, coastal economic zones, construction of new berths/terminals in existing ports like JNPT, Mumbai and Kandla Ports, capital and maintenance dredging, mechanization, hinterland connectivity and evacuation infrastructure, ship building, ship repairing and ship recycling.
India has envisaged USD 50-60 billion foreign investment for infrastructure. Another USD 100 billion is envisaged towards industrial development for port-led economic growth and inland waterways, water transport, coastal and cruise shipping and solar and wind energy generation to further boost the country’s growth momentum.
The minister hopes to add two percentage points in India’s GDP through creating world-class infrastructure.
At the US Department of Transportation, Gadkari will witness Modal Presentations by Federal Highway Administration, US Maritime Administration and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
During his visit to New York on the second leg of his visit, he will visit New York City State Transport Department to understand intelligent transport management, city traffic management and control centre and other technology-based transport solutions.
In the commercial capital of the US, Gadkari will also have a series of interactions with investors at the meets organised by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, J P Morgan, Goldman Sachs and US Indian Business Council.
“Some of these interactions will be a follow up of the deliberations at the Maritime India Summit in Mumbai where a large number of US companies had evinced keen interest in promoting bilateral cooperation with India in Maritime sector,” the statement said.
Gadkari will invite US companies for technology cooperation in road and highway building, road engineering, innovations in automobile sector, road safety and green fuels.
Gadkari will also visit St Louis to understand Inland Waterways System on world famous Mississippi River by undertaking a boat trip.
On the next leg of his visit to San Francisco, he will have talks with senior officials from the California Transportation Agency, and departments of International Affairs and business development.
He will also visit Tesla, manufacturers of electric cars, and hold a meeting with investors and interact with TiE Charter members over dinner.
TiE is a global organisation of entrepreneurs with over 12,000 members. He will also have interactions with and visit Oracle and Bloom Energy.
More than 150 projects were identified under the ambitious Sagarmala Programme at the recent Maritime India Summit in Mumbai.
India has 7,500 km long coastline, 212 ports, 70 coastal districts, one billion tone cargo handling currently, 111 waterways and 90 per cent of export-import trade (by volume) handled at ports. Deadrin Senat Jersey
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