'Pace of infra development should be quickened'

Infosys Chief Mentor Narayan Murthy said the pace of infrastructure development in the country should be quickened as the delays are causing huge losses to the economy.

"We have to look at the time value of the money, which is invested in the infrastructure projects in the country. There is a tendency for projects to get delayed in India," Murthy said while addressing a seminar organised by Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS).
He said the mega projects like the golden quadrilateral, Ratnagiri Gas Power Plant (earlier known as Dhabol Power Plant) should have been completed much earlier.

"I am not making a light remark, work on Dhabol power plant has been on for more than 10 years, the golden quadrilateral project has also been delayed and to talk about the Bangalore International Airport, even if gets ready in time, we cannot be sure whether the road to the airport will be ready or not," Murthy said.

As even on this morning the road has not been tendered, he said.

Murthy was commenting on the proposal of UN-ESCAP to set up a Regional Special Purpose Vehicle, which would use a part of foreign reserves of the Asian countries for infrastructure development in the region.

"While the experts come out with the mechanisms to boost the infrastructure development, my request is to ensure that the fuel (money) is utilised effectively in a transparent manner," Murthy added.