Gadkari launches upgraded web platform for road ministry purchases

Minister of road transport and highways and shipping Nitin Gadkari today launched `INAM-Pro +',  an upgraded version of INAM-Pro, the web portal designed by National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) and launched by the ministry two years back.

The portal launched as a common platform to bring cement buyers and sellers together, now includes the A to Z of construction materials viz, cement, steel, bitumen, stone aggregates, concrete, bricks, wood, sanitary items, paint etc, besides purchase/hiring/lease of equipment, machinery and services.

More than 700 construction companies have used INAM-Pro during the last two years. With 37 cement companies registered on it, the portal facilitates comparison of price, availability of materials etc and makes it very convenient for the prospective buyers to procure cement at reasonable rates in a transparent manner.

This reduced the time and effort in preparation of proposals and bid submissions, and helped increase efficiency in procurement of construction materials as one could place orders, obtain price quotes and track them in swift manner on this portal, says an official release.

The publicly visible prices have promoted transparency and enhanced ease of doing business. The companies registered on INAM-Pro have a committed supply of 27 million metric tonnes of cement at a price restricted by predefined ceiling values.

INAM-Pro has thus been successful in matching demand with supply, cutting down delays by timely supply of material and providing for online payments, mitigating cost overruns due to price hedging through ceiling price mechanism which allows maximum increment of 10 per cent year-on-year basis and promoting transparency in the market due to publicly visible prices.

INAM-Pro has been highly acclaimed by the construction industry and IT sector and has also been recognised and listed in the Book-on-Innovations "New Beginning" released by PM on the Civil Services Day.

Following the success with cement, the portal has recently been upgraded as INAM-Pro+ to include the A to Z of construction materials, equipments/machinery and services like purchase/hiring/lease of new/used products and services in the domains of construction materials, viz, cement, steel, bitumen, stone aggregates, concrete, bricks, wood, sanitary items, paint etc.

It also covers infrastructure machinery such as HMP, paver finisher, backhoe loaders etc', besides intelligent transport system equipment such as VMS, CCTV, ECB, Boom Barriers etc as also road furniture such as road signage, road studs, etc. It also covers haulage vehicles, viz, tippers, backhoe loaders, cranes, road safety and protection works like crash barriers, hazard markers, delineators etc and services, viz, road marking, ambulance, route patrolling, tree plantation / transplantation.

The portal allows stake holders to seek operational guidance, give their feedback and submit suggestions through Toll Free No 1800 200 3399 (10.00 A.M. to 6.00 P.M, Monday to Friday) or www. www.inampromic.in.

Launching INAM-Pro +, Gadkari called upon government organizations, PSUs and other organisations in the sector to make use of this portal, which, he said, is very effective in facilitating efficient and transparent procurement of construction material and service.