Bharatmala costs up, project likely delayed by six years

A recent research claims that the Bharatmala Project, the long-in-development ambitious plan by the Centre to build over 30,000 km of national highways, is taking longer and costing more money. The project is anticipated to be finished in FY28, which is a six-year delay from the initial schedule, according to the Icra-authored report. Currently, the project's cost is at Rs 10.63 trillion, up 99 per cent, and is expected to rise another 15 to 20 per cent. The project, which was first announced in July 2015, was initially expected to cost the nation Rs 5.35 trillion and would develop 24,800 km of national highways by FY22, along with the remaining 10,000 km of highways that were still pending under the previous National Highway Development Programme.