During the initial seven months of the current fiscal year, official data reveals that the rate of national highway construction in the country reached 20.78 kilometres per day. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has devised plans to sustain this development pace, aiming to construct 12,500 kilometres of highways in the fiscal year 2023-24.
According to MoRTH's monthly summary for the Cabinet in October 2023, the project award figure for this period is 2,595 kilometres, a decrease from the 5,007 kilometres awarded in the previous year. However, the ministry has successfully built 4,474 kilometres of national highways up to October in 2023-24, surpassing the 4,060 kilometres constructed up to October in 2022-23.
In the 2019-20 financial year, the ministry achieved the construction of 10,237 kilometres of national highways, followed by 13,327 kilometres in 2020-21 and 10,457 kilometres in 2021-22.
To meet the annual award target, MoRTH emphasises the need for prompt decision-making on the approval of the revised Bharatmala Phase-1 or an alternate program. The ministry warns that a shortfall in awards this year will impact the progress of construction in the fiscal year 2024-25.
The Bharatmala Pariyojana, India's largest highway infrastructure program, aims to develop 34,800 kilometres of national highway corridors with an investment of Rs 5.35 trillion. Phase 1 of the program focuses on the development of approximately 24,800 kilometres of national highway networks, including economic corridors, inter-corridor and feeder roads, efficiency improvements for national corridors, border and international connectivity roads, coastal and port connectivity roads, expressways, and 10,000 kilometres of roads under the balance National Highway Development Project (NHDP).
