Highway construction in the first eight months of this fiscal year stood close to 4900 km which is 6.6% lower than last year’s 5248 km in the same period of the previous year. But, the pace of building new roads is higher than what the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had targeted for the whole year.
The government has set a provisional target of constructing 10,421 km of national highways this financial year, which is 15% lower than last year’s achievement due to the prolonged election process delaying various state clearances.
Of the total target, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has been given a target of 5,000 km while the remaining will be done by National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL) and road wing of the ministry. NHAI has constructed 2563 km of highways and awarded contracts for 776 km.
The award figure in April-November 2024 for the newer highways was around 2200 km as compared to 2816 km in the same period of the previous year. No target has been set for award as no detailed long-term plan has been chalked out to replace Bharatmala. Award of new projects under Bharatmala was stopped last year and it has been replaced by Vision 2047.
No specific target under Vision 2047 plan has been approved by the Government. From now on depending on the priority of the project – in consultation with economic ministries and other stakeholders – and availability of resources projects will be undertaken under the Vision 2047.
The slowdown in awarding since last year, however, will impact the pace of highway construction in 2025-26 also and only in 2026-27 can an uptick be expected, according to analysts.,
The expenditure on highway building in April-November fell to Rs 1.49 lakh crore which is
54% of this financial year’s target of Rs 2.72 lakh crore. Last year during the same period the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had spent Rs 1.69 lakh crore or 66% of its target.