We need USD 200 bn a year for infra

Union Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha said that infrastructure development was a national priority and the country needs funds upto USD 200 billion a year for the next 5-10 years to attain the desired infrastructure level. ¨Infrastructure is a national priority,¨ Sinha said recently in Kolkata. Infrastructure development through bank finance and PPP model has not worked due to various issues in the past like land acquisition, environment fuel linkage for power plants and risks have to be taken, which were difficult to handle by private investors. He said what the world has learnt in the last few years was reverse PPP, as India needed funds upto USD 200 billion a year for the next 5-10 years to attain the desired infrastructure level. Sinha said the Centre would offer an enabling environment toward this goal and remained optimistic that India would become the next growth engine.