New Delhi: Prime Minister-designate Manmohan Singh today (May 20, 2004) said his Government would not dismantle the schemes pursued by the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Government and would continue with the Rs 58,000 crore National Highway Development Project (NHDP).

"There is need for massive investment in roads and I assure you we are not out to dismantle the scheme of the previous Government. We will make an assessment (the road project)," Singh told an unscheduled press conference in New Delhi.

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The outgoing Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government had in 2000 launched a massive national highway building programme NHDP, with the first phase called Golden Quadrilateral, which would connect the four metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata with four/six-lane highways by 2004 end.

The second phase of NHDP comprises North-South corridor linking Srinagar with Kanyakumari and East-West corridor connecting Silchar with Porbandar with four-lane highways by 2007.

"Roads are a national priority, we will strengthen road works programme that will give priority to rural connectivity, which had not been given attention previously," he added.