JOB OPPORTUNITIES IN ROAD SECTOR

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Rajya Sabha

Road construction has strong backward linkages to the industry relating to cement, steel, petroleum and oil, equipment, crushing and mixing etc. The thrust on road construction would provide necessary support to economic growth.

Construction of roads, culverts and bridges is one of the largest consumers of steel and building materials and generates employment opportunities. Construction of Phase I of National Highways Development Project (NHDP), which is presently under progress, alone requires about 30-40 lakh tonnes of cement per year and about 3 lakh tonnes of steel per year. It would also generate employment opportunities of 18 crore man-days. This has resulted in growth of cement industry by 9.3 per cent and that of steel industry by 7.3 per cent during period April to October 2002.The major impact of road construction programmes would be as under:

1. Connectivity and mobility
2. Savings in vehicle operating cost
3. Saving in travel time and fuel
4. Reduction in accidents
5. Removal of regional imbalances
6. Employment generation.

This information was given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Road Transport and Highways, Major General B.C. Khanduri, AVSM (Retd.) in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.