Nitin Gadkari urges industry to use waterways transportation for goods

Mr. Gadkari said that the government has already started the process of introducing Broad gauge metro in railways using the already existing railway network.

Mr. Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport & Highways and MSME, Govt of India, today urged the industry to use waterways as a mode of transportation for goods to reduce cost and become competitive in the export market.

Speaking at a conference on ‘Developing A Roadmap for Low Carbon & Sustainable Mobility in India’, organised by FICCI Mr. Gadkari said, “This is the appropriate time. We have the best technology; economic viability and we need public-private investments. To support these, we have government policies.”

Mr. Gadkari said that the government has already started the process of introducing Broad gauge metro in railways using the already existing railway network. He also invited the private sector to explore and invest in this sector. “This model can be given to the private sector to run these metros,” he said.

Highlighting the potential in the transport sector, Mr. Gadkari urged the industry to use waterways transportation as a mode for transporting goods. “The most economically viable transport is water transport and public transport on electricity,” he added.

Mr. Gadkari said that the Delhi Mumbai express highway, part of the 22 green highway project, will be completed in the next 3 years and will reduce travel distance by 280 kms. “In the long term, LNG should be used in trucks which will reduce the cost by 40 percent as compared to diesel and CNG for city buses,” he added.

Mr. Gadkari invited the private sector to come forward to invest in the conversion of CNG from stubble and solid waste. He added that the government is also working on adopting bio-aviation fuel as a fuel option which will be cheaper than petroleum aviation fuel.

He urged FICCI to develop a policy for the next 25 years focusing on cost-effective, pollution-free, best technology options, ecology, and environment. 

Highlighting the potential of e-vehicles in India, Mr. Gadkari said that the government is planning to introduce 10,000 electric buses and the government will support the e-vehicle sector. “By using the world’s best technology, we can see a reduction of 10 percent in the logistics cost and will also help in reducing pollution, creation of new jobs and overall development of the economy,” added Mr. Gadkari.

He emphasized on different options such as the conversion of waste and sewage into biofuels, utilization of wasteland for Jatropha, promotion hydrogen fuel cells, alternative fuels in the rural sector to contribute towards livelihood generation and waterways as a long-term solution.

Mr. Bharat Salhotra, Chair, FICCI Core Group on Sustainable Mobility and MD, Ronmas India Private Limited said, “Today, we are entering into a new phase to have consultations with the government on India Roadmap for low carbon and sustainable mobility. FICCI has conducted multi-stakeholder consultations for the Roadmap in three Indian cities as well as in international conferences to develop a comprehensive one single roadmap for the country in the transport space.”

Mr. Ravi Singh, Secretary General & CEO, WWF India also shared his perspective on the future transport sector of the country.

This FICCI led initiative is supported by PPMC (Paris Process on Mobility and Climate), WWF-India and Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation as knowledge partners. The specific objectives of this Roadmap are:

·        To provide a long-term vision and action plan to the government for decarbonization of the transport sector

·        To provide integrated thinking, design and planning perspective on low carbon and sustainable mobility ecosystem in India for the near-term (2022), mid-term (2030) and long-term (2050)