Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari has declared the recently concluded Chabahar Port development agreement with Iran a game changer.
"Gas and electricity are cheaper in Iran, while in our country there is a shortage of gas. Further the Chabahar port will give direct access to Indian goods to the markets in Afghanistan, Central Asia and Eastern Europe, bypassing Pakistan," he told the media. Gadkari said that Kandla port in Gujarat would benefit the most by the Chabahar port agreement.
Referring to the drought situation in Maharashtra, Nitin Gadkari announced that several water ponds would be developed along the national highways, while using the dredged material for road building activity.
He said there was no funds' crunch for financing the infrastructure projects with several options available to the government like direct investment, PPT, annuity and subsidy method. He asserted that the government has been able to raise dollar loan at a low interest of 2.75% to finance the JNPT road connectivity project. Gadkari also said that all the major ports of the country have made profits, which would also be ploughed in to finance projects.