From a record 37 km per day in 2020-21, the pace of National Highway construction slowed to 20.43 km a day during the first four months of 2022. In the next five years, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) wants to complete 60,000 km of NH at an average daily construction rate of 40 km. Clearly, we need to pull up our socks to achieve this. Moreover, the target now is to attain 50 km a day. With average construction cost of INR 300 million per km (including land acquisition costs) and a conservative inflation rate of 3 per cent for road-building costs, the total funding requirement to attain this target will entail a good deal of investment from the government. On the right track Construction of four, six and eight-lane national highways has shot up by 300 per cent in the past seven years. So, despite the pandemic, getting back to building 50 km per day is not far-fetched. The talent pool that was building 6 km a day years ago has not increased; the same set of people are now building almost five times more. This has been facilitated by digitisation. Clearly, we have innovated a lot in terms of using lesser manpower and precise machines to get the job done. Digitisation of land records has been done in record time, which has made land acquisition faster. Today, a DPR can be completed in nine months and operational maintenance contracts ensure the roads are maintained. MoRTH and NHAI have given contractors a free hand to select the right kind of equipment and technology to scale up the pace of construction. Use of new technology in road construction is a reality. One example would be the use of the mobile feeder for contactless paving. Such machines are already being used in the Bharatmala project, augmenting the pace and quality of construction while reducing the cost. Soil stabilisation is helping reduce the use of aggregates, not only in national highways but rural roads. Inline pavers have also come into play. Getting the bearings right Construction execution solutions may be a new term to grasp but it involves a series of machines and equipment interconnected to each other. In the age of telematics, such solutions have been designed to automate road construction further. However, when it comes to the use of such innovative technologies and machines, it is important to impart the right kind of training. To speed up the pace of road construction, often the trend is to overlook numerous factors and clearances that, going further, have a long-term impact on the ecosystem. However, such issues are getting their due regard, which will ensure that we follow a path of not just development but development that is all inclusive. Mission could be possible If all the stakeholders work together, building 50 km a day could be doable. The target vis-à-vis what has been done between the mainland cities and their ever-expanding peripheries also highlights the need to note the demand graph in the roads sector. “When it comes to project performance for highway projects, there have been delays over the last 10-15 years. But today time overruns have come down to 15 per cent from 50 per cent. Furthermore, lane kilometre needs to be taken into account also as we are building more four and six-lane roads rather than just two-lane roads, like six years ago.” - AMEYA KULKARNI, Director, Major Projects Advisory, KPMG “Training is a must. Companies are coming up with skill development programmes. For instance, Terex runs a three-level programme at the site level, for the operators, and factories.” - INDRABHUSHAN GOKHALE, Country Manager, c “If you look at the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway project that we are associated with is designed for daily commuters, urban connectors, city users, logistics sector and many more. This itself indicates that we have moved to a phase of inclusive development and it shows that our capability lies not just in the money spent or kilometres built but in taking the nation forward together as well.” - HARDIK AGARWAL, Director, Dineshchandra R Agarwal Infracon “Road investment is increasing YoY. In 2022-23, roads have seen the highest investments with INR 2.15 trillion. Moreover, the banks have taken an interest in the sector. Due to InvITs, funding is easily available. Further, the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) has been laid out for the next five years, which provides assurance to the market.” - ANSHUMALI SRIVASTAVA, Chief General Manager-Mumbai, NHAI