New Delhi, Jan 31 (IANS): National Highways are our national assets, and we have put a lot of emphasis on enhancing their quality and safety, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, has said.

Addressing the stakeholder consultation workshop in New Delhi, organised by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Gadkari said that technology is a great enabler and adoption of automated and intelligent machine-aided construction (AIMC) is a step in the right direction.

“We have achieved success in the Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway pilot project and soon, we will implement this technology to other projects also,” said the Union Minister.

“India has made remarkable strides in developing world-class roads and highways that has significantly enhanced our infrastructure. Every stakeholder plays a vital role in this transformation. As we move forward, leveraging advanced technology such as sensors, satellites, and real-time monitoring will be key to accelerating progress,” he noted.

With continuous technological advancements, we are committed to align India’s road infrastructure with Vision 2047 and take our National Highway network to the world class level, said Gadkari.

According to V. Umashankar, Secretary, MoRTH, the roads and highways that we construct today will serve our nation for many years to come.

“Therefore, time and quality of construction are the two critical parameters that we have been focusing on. Compaction is one of the critical aspects of road construction and technology that is available today enable us to address the challenges related to compaction,” he mentioned.

Vishal Chauhan, Member (Administration), NHAI emphasised that the inputs from this stakeholder’s consultation workshop will contribute in transforming conventional NH construction methods into a data-driven approach by integrating AI-MC technology.

NHAI is successfully implementing pilot project of AIMC on the Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway, wherein automated and intelligent machines such as GPS aided Motor Grader, Intelligent Compactor and stringless Paver have been used.