India calls for increased biofuel use in construction industry

The Indian transport minister, a long-time proponent of biofuels, is encouraging India’s industry to take up biofuels more widely.

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari advises the construction and transportation sectors to use biodiesel to keep air pollution in check as the Indian government sets a target to expand its road system by 60,000km.

‘The industry should be innovative and sensitive to the environment, as it is the duty of everyone to ensure air quality remains pure and fresh by minimising use of diesel and change their vehicle engines to run on biodiesel or ethanol,’ he said, speaking at the international construction industry event Excon 2015.

Even developing like Brazil were using biodiesel or ethanol as an alternative fuel to reduce their carbon footprint and protect their environment, Gadkari further notes.

The Narendra Modi government of India has set a target of having the roads and highways sector contribute 2% to the nation’s GDP growth within the next two years.

To this end, India is planning to expand its national highways to 150,000km from the current 90,000km, which is expected to create up to five million jobs.