The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is currently grappling with the challenge of creating detailed project reports (DPRs) due to a reluctance among concerned companies to embrace new technology, as stated by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday (October 17).
Gadkari emphasised the government’s efforts to promote the adoption of new technologies for creating DPRs.
CRISIL India Infrastructure Conclave 2023
While speaking at the ‘CRISIL India Infrastructure Conclave 2023,’ Gadkari also raised concerns about major players in the steel and cement industries engaging in cartelization to inflate prices.
He further pointed out that companies involved in DPR preparation are hesitant to embrace new technology, innovation, research, and the existing DPR standards are often subpar, leading to additional scope of work in various projects.
Discussing high logistics costs in India, Gadkari highlighted that logistics costs in the country stand at 14-16%, while it’s notably lower at 8-10% in China.
