Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari inaugurated 527 km of National Highway projects worth Rs 4,075 crore on October 1. The event was held in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) organised Bhumi poojan and the dedication of these projects to the nation. Member of Parliament Sharad Pawar, MP Sadashiv Lokhande, MP Dr Sujay Vikhe Patil, and Maharashtra's Rural Development and Labour Minister Hasan Mushrif were among the dignitaries present.Gadkari spoke at the event and discussed the importance of converting sugar into ethanol. He said that ethanol production could save the country money on fuel and that there was a need to run vehicles on electricity and ethanol, similar to what Brazil had done. According to him, the country imports crude oil and natural gas worth Rs 12 lakh crores. Ethanol pumps have been approved by the Indian government. As a result, he added, all sugar mills in the area should install ethanol pumps. He said that India requires 240 lakh tonnes of sugar and that the country will produce 310 lakh tonnes of sugar in 2020. The 70 lakh tonnes of extra sugar should have been turned into ethanol. He explained that the Indian government is willing to enter into a five-year Ethanol Purchase Agreement as a power purchase agreement. The centre has now approved the production of ethanol from rice, maize, and other grains in addition to sugarcane. Wherever state government land is available, logistics parks, industrial clusters, and transportation towns can be built. Due to the sugar industry and milk production, similar plans have previously been developed in Western Maharashtra. As per Gadkari, MoRTH, NHAI and PWD will implement a total of 527 km of road development projects in the Ahmednagar district. The projects include the four-laning of the Ahmednagar-Karmala-Tembhurni section of NH-516A at Rs 2,013 crore, the upgradation of the Savali Bihar to Ahmednagar Bypass Section of NH-160 at Rs 496 crore, the strengthening of the Ahmednagar and Bhingar city portion of NH-61 (old NH-222) at Rs 35 crore, and fourteen Central Road Infrastructure Fund projects worth Rs 85 crore. Image Source Also read: Nitin Gadkari lays foundation stone for NH projects in J&K