Key infrastructure sectors like power, coal, aviation and highways put up an impressive show in 2010 despite the crippling effects of a global financial slowdown, according to a government report.

Eleven infrastructure sectors registered steady growth during the calendar year, the report prepared by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said.

The growth in the infrastructure sector comes on the back of robust 8.9 per cent economic expansion during the first half of the current fiscal.

The report said coal production in the country grew by 10.5 per cent in 2010, giving a fillip to electricity generation, which clocked 6.3 per cent growth during 2010.

Furthermore, the study indicates that passenger traffic at international and domestic airports increased by 2.7 per cent and 8.7 per cent, respectively, during the year.

The aviation sector also saw a 5.2 per cent rise in import cargoes, even as it witnessed a 6.9 per cent fall in export cargo traffic.

Road and highway construction and upgradation activities registered an upswing in 2010 as well, with the sector growing by 3.6 per cent.

In particular, work on rehabilitation and construction of bridges registering a whopping 104 per cent growth.

Meanwhile, the petroleum sector witnessed a fall in output, with crude oil production down by 1.3 per cent and refinery throughput by 2 per cent in 2010

Cargo throughput at major ports in the country jumped by 3.6 per cent during 2010.

Steel and cement — which underpin infrastructure development activities — reported 4.5 per cent and 9.7 per cent growth, respectively, during the calendar year.

What is more, the revenue of the railways from freight consignments surged by 7.2 per cent in 2010, vis-a-vis 2009.

Following the global financial meltdown in 2008, the country’s economic growth rate slipped to 6.7 per cent in 2008-09 from over 9 per cent in the preceding three years.

The growth rate, however, improved to 7.4 per cent in 2009-10 and is expected to be around 9 per cent in the ongoing fiscal.