The Indian state of Tamil Nadu will see development of nine road projects at an estimated cost of Rs70bn ($1.02bn), according to Union Minister of Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari.

Construction works on all the projects are slated to begin next December, reported The New Indian Express.

The nine projects include Karaikudi-Pattukottai-Tanjavur, Salem-Uthankarai-Tirupur, Tiruvannamalai-Kallakurichi, the minister revealed during the ground-breaking ceremony of four national highways projects spanning 105km.

"If we want to create more jobs, we have to concentrate more on our infrastructure."

The central government has already sanctioned 331km of road development projects under the nine proposals, reported Press Trust of India.

The minister said that the focus on infrastructure is important for job creation.

Gadkari was quoted by the news agency as saying: "If we want to create more jobs, we have to concentrate more on our infrastructure. And four important things, which are related with development, are water, power, transport and communications."

Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone of four national highways projects, which are being built at an estimated cost of Rs27.66bn ($406m).

These include constructions of four-lane roads on the Karode-Villukuri, Villukuri-Kanyakumari and Avinashi-Tiruppur-Avinashipalayam sections, the flyover at Parvathypuram and Marthandam junctions in the state’s Kanyakumari district.

The minister also announced that eight state highway roads will be upgraded to the status of National Highways and for this purpose, the ministry has allocated Rs170bn ($2.4bn) to the state, reported The New Indian Express.

Around 40 road projects have been taken up in total in Tamil Nadu with an estimated investment of Rs120bn ($1.76bn) and all the projects are on fast-track mode, the minister added.