India plans new transport authority to fix infrastructure flaws

India is planning to set up a Federal Transport Planning Authority to coordinate infrastructure projects and curb wasteful spending, according to people familiar with the matter.

The new body, which will work closely with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office, will oversee developments in aviation, highways, shipping, rail and urban planning, aligning different ministries to improve project feasibility and avoid delays, said the people, who asked not to be identified citing regulations.

He said it may take three to six months for the proposal to get cabinet approval.
The world’s most populous country is spending tens of billions of dollars on building infrastructure as it tries to become a developed nation by 2047. But this investment enthusiasm has led to costly inefficiencies and underutilization of infrastructure resulting in empty airport terminals and metro systems running below capacity. The government hopes to address this with a new body, taking inspiration from countries such as South Korea and Britain, which rely on transport authorities – Seoul’s Metropolitan Transport Commission and London’s Transport for London – to align projects, cut duplication and adapt infrastructure to actual demand.

India’s aviation, road and highways, shipping and railway ministries did not immediately respond to emailed queries on the new entity.

systematic planning

Despite ongoing investment in India’s highways, airports, rail lines and ports, departments continue to operate in silos, resulting in disconnected systems. A previous attempt to streamline the scheme – the PM Gati Shakti initiative launched in 2021 – involved 58 departments and 36 states and union territories, but was largely limited to project approvals and failed to deliver the expected results, the people said. He said the new authority would aim to prioritize viable projects and expedite approvals. At present the proposals are examined by various departments before going to the federal finance ministry for giving the green signal. Of India’s 140 airports, 12 terminals had no passengers between December and March, and more than a third had average daily flights of less than five last year, according to official data.

Mumbai’s second airport, inaugurated this month, took 25 years from planning to completion, and the airport lacks connectivity with the metro or other transport networks because those projects were planned separately.

Metro systems are also performing poorly. Mumbai’s ridership is 30% of its target, Bengaluru’s is only 6%. Outside New Delhi and Kolkata, most metro networks operate at less than 20% of projected capacity. The National Auditor has criticized projects built years or decades before demand is met.