India’s roads sector is entering a decisive phase. After a decade defined by rapid kilometre expansion and record-breaking award numbers, the next cycle will be judged less by scale and more by substance. As 2026 unfolds, the central question confronting the industry is not whether road investments will continue, but where they will originate – from the Centre or the states – and how that shift will reshape opportunities and risks for contractors, consultants, vendors and financiers.

Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhry, Former DG, Border Roads Organisation (BRO), sees the coming year as a structural turning point rather than a pause. “2026 is not a slowdown year; it is a transition year. We are moving from kilometre-built to value-built.” The emphasis, he explains, is shifting decisively towards quality, safety, asset life and risk allocation, with capital discipline becoming the defining filter. “Risk and capital will decide which projects move forward and which do not.”

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