The National Highways of Authority of India (NHAI) has accomplished construction of 3,979 km of national highways in financial year FY2019-20. This is the highest ever highway construction achieved in a financial year by NHAI. The
construction pace as noticed in last years has seen a steady growth with 3,380 km construction in FY2018-19. Continuing the same trend with the development of 3,979 km of
national highways during FY2019-20, NHAI has achieved an all-time high construction since its inception in 1995.
The government has envisaged a very ambitious highway development programme , namely Bharatmala Pariyojana which includes development of about 65,000 km national highways. Under Phase-I of Bharatmala Pariyojana , the government has approved implementation of 34,800 km of national highways with a very stiff target of five years with an outlay of Rs 5,350 billion. NHAI has been mandated development of about 27,500 km of national highways under Bharatmala Pariyojna Phase-I.
In order to accelerate the pace of construction, a large number of initiatives have been taken to revive the stalled projects and expedite completion of new projects, said a press release by NHAI. These include:
Streamlining of land acquisition and acquisition of major portion of land prior to invitation of bids.
Award of projects after adequate project preparation in terms of land acquisition, clearances, etc.
Disposal of cases in respect of Change of Scope (CoS) and Extension of Time (EoT) in a time bound manner
Procedure for approval of General Arrangement Drawing for ROBs simplified and made online.
Close coordination with other ministries and state governments.
One time fund infusion.
Regular review at various levels and identification or removal of bottlenecks in project execution.
Proposed exit for equity investors.
Securitisation of road sector loans.
Disputes resolution mechanism revamped to avoid delays in completion of projects.
With the increased pace of highway development, NHAI has achieved construction of 3,979 km of national highways in FY2019-20 and is committed to provide a smooth ride on national highways in the country, said the release.
