Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari will seek cooperation with the US in innovative technologies for modernizing the country's infrastructure during his maiden visit to the US. Gadkari will meet top American officials with an aim to attract billions of dollars in FDI in the crucial sector and will invite investments in ports, ship building and coastal economics zones.
Gadkari will primarily seek the US' cooperation in highway projects, material, equipment, tunnel projects, intelligent transport systems (ITS), road safety initiatives and training institutes including equipment like training simulators. 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.
The minister will also meet Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx. In the meeting Gadkari is expected to highlight the positive indicators contributing to the 'phenomenal revival' of the roads and highways sector in India and the government's policy shift from 'Build Roads' to 'Move in India'. The government has envisaged around $150 billion investments for the highways sector in the next five years with range of projects to suit each investor's risk and return expectations.