NHAI to award 7,994 km highway project

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will award 7,994 km of highway projects in the current financial year. The move is expected to boost spending for cement, steel, and bitumen by Rs 42,000 crore. In road building, 70 per cent is used in buying raw material, around 20 per cent goes in labour cost and the rest goes into machines. This is also bound to increase the country's import bill because cement and bitumen are imported from countries like Bangladesh and Iran. Contact: National Highways Authority of India. Tel: 011-2507 4100.  Fax: 011-2509 3507. Website: www.nhai.org