New government expected to boost infrastructure spending

The infrastructure sector in the country is expected to get a booster shot in the form of support to new building and construction projects once the new government assumes office.

With a near majority in the new House, the United Progressive Alliance government led by Manmohan Singh is expected to announce big-budget projects in the infrastructure sector, including shipping, roads, railways and building construction.

The planning commission is reported to have already prepared the blueprint for four new rail freight corridors, in addition to the Ludhiana-Kolkata (eastern corridor) and Delhi-Mumbai (western corridor) projects already being implemented.

The plan panel has now prepared blueprints for dedicated freight corridors in the Kolkata-Mumbai, Delhi-Chennai, Kharagpur-Vijayawada and Chennai-Goa sectors, Anwarul Hoda, member of the outgoing planning commission, said.

"The commission is ready with the plan for four dedicated freight corridors - Kolkata-Mumbai, Delhi-Chennai, Kharagpur-Vijayawada and Chennai-Goa," he said.

The eastern and western rail freight corridor projects are currently being implemented by state-run Dedicated Railway Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited.