• The last 12 months were bad.

In 2004-2005 and even 2005-2006, the first two years of this government, a lot of the projects that had started earlier were completed but very few projects were started by the previous government beyond the Golden Quadrilateral. So now our task has to be to get new projects underway. The test of performance is really the new contract. In 2005-2006, there was almost 4,800 km of contracting which was the largest ever. This will get completed two or three years down the road. This year we have also switched to the new concession agreement. I am expecting a significant amount of contracting which will build up.

• So when this government goes to the polls in 2009, you know governments live election-to-election, are they going to be able to say that Vajpayee may have given you the Golden Quadrilateral or the idea of the GQ, most of it, but we have given you several times more of these highways?

A correction. The GQ project was before Vajpayee’s time. I think what he announced was the north-south NHDP2. Certainly in 2009 my expectation is the government will be able to explain to the people that there’s been major progress in the following areas. For example, airport modernisation. It was during this government’s time that the final sign off on Hyderabad and Bangalore took place and also modernisation of Mumbai and Delhi, all of which are now fully underway. Chennai should be next but we haven’t got a decision on that.

... contd.