The task force constituted by PM Atal Behari Vajpayee will be headed by Planning Commission deputy chairman Jaswant Singh. It will ensure completion of highway projects announced by the prime minister at Ficci conference on October 24. The projects include six-lane expressway of 7,000 km length along the north-south and east-west corridors, four-laning of national highways and five world-class international airports.

The task force will comprise surface transport minister M Thambi Durai, civil aviation minister Ananth Kumar, Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation (IDFC) chairman Deepak Parekh and secretaries of surface transport and civil aviation ministers as its members. Secretary to the prime minister NK Singh will be the task force's member secretary, an official press release said. More members wouldbe inducted in the task force if needed, specially when new projects in different sectors are taken up.The terms of reference of the task force will be to determine the routes for expressways and national highways and establish technical parameters. It will also identify and recommend locations for airports along with establishing benchmarks and criteria for airports.

The task force will recommend criteria for competitive bidding and selection of engineering procurement and construction contractors. Other terms of reference include recommendation of financing options for expressways, highways and airports along with steps for timely completion of projects, including governmental approvals. The task force will also monitor timely implementation of the projects. This apart, the task force may be assigned assignments as may be found necessary from time to time.