Nitin Gadkari to unveil plans for road and shipping growth on Thursday

Entrusted with the task to spur growth in infrastructure space, former BJP President Nitin Jairam Gadkari will unveil the blueprint tomorrow to revive highways and shipping sectors after he assumes charge of the ministries. "I will take up the issues for the ministries on priority basis and will list out my plans tomorrow after I assume charge of the ministries," Gadkari, who celebrated his birthday in Nagpur on Tuesday. 

Gadkari has been assigned the crucial ministries of Shipping and Road Transport and Highways (RTH), which were held by different ministers earlier. Known for his passion for infrastructure segment, Gadkari, who is a key member of Modi's core group, said he was committed for development. He is scheduled to fly to Delhi from Nagpur on Wednesday afternoon to participate in the Cabinet meeting scheduled the same evening.

Known as an able administrator with innovative approaches in infrastructure space, he faces the challenges of reviving the road sector and shipping sectors where bidders have been shying away from projects and a mammoth task of capacity building lies ahead.

The highways sector is battling a score of issues amid stalled projects worth at least Rs 1.5 lakh crore on account of various regulatory hurdles and premium issues. The shipping sector, on the other hand, has been showing poor performance. It is poised for huge capacity augmentation, to 3,130 million tonne from around 700 MT at present, at the country's 12 major ports in the next 5-6 years.