Bharatmala highways project plagued by cost, time escalation
ROADS & HIGHWAYS

Bharatmala highways project plagued by cost, time escalation

The Union government’s slow-moving Bharatmala Project - a plan to develop over 30,000 km of national highways - is seeing completion times and costs escalate, according to a new report from ICRA.

The report says the project is likely to be complete in FY28, a six-year delay from the original timeline. The cost of the project has already risen by 99% to Rs 10,630 billion and is poised to see another 15-20% increase.

First announced in July 2015, the project was originally estimated to cost the country Rs 5,350 billion to develop 24,800 km of national highways and another 10,000 km of highways pending under the erstwhile National Highway Development Programme by FY22. Calculations made in 2015 pegged the project cost at Rs 155.20 million crore per km.

ICRA's findings point to land acquisition as being a major problem area for the project. Funding is also a likely roadblock, with costs almost doubling since 2015. Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has hinted at that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) may raise additional debt.

The Bharatmala Project is being undertaken by NHAI, the Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry, and the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation, with the bulk of the project under NHAI.

See also:
CM commends NHAI for Amravati Highway
Tiruninravur-Tiruvallur high road will shortly be widened


The Union government’s slow-moving Bharatmala Project - a plan to develop over 30,000 km of national highways - is seeing completion times and costs escalate, according to a new report from ICRA. The report says the project is likely to be complete in FY28, a six-year delay from the original timeline. The cost of the project has already risen by 99% to Rs 10,630 billion and is poised to see another 15-20% increase. First announced in July 2015, the project was originally estimated to cost the country Rs 5,350 billion to develop 24,800 km of national highways and another 10,000 km of highways pending under the erstwhile National Highway Development Programme by FY22. Calculations made in 2015 pegged the project cost at Rs 155.20 million crore per km. ICRA's findings point to land acquisition as being a major problem area for the project. Funding is also a likely roadblock, with costs almost doubling since 2015. Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has hinted at that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) may raise additional debt. The Bharatmala Project is being undertaken by NHAI, the Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry, and the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation, with the bulk of the project under NHAI.See also: CM commends NHAI for Amravati Highway Tiruninravur-Tiruvallur high road will shortly be widened

Related Stories

Gold Stories

Next Story
Infrastructure Urban

Vedanta Metal Bazaar Expands to Global Markets

Vedanta Aluminium has expanded its digital e-commerce platform, Vedanta Metal Bazaar, to international markets, enabling overseas customers to order and purchase aluminium products online.The platform will now be available to buyers across Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas, providing a digital gateway for export transactions with 24x7 access.In FY26, Vedanta Metal Bazaar processed transactions worth nearly $4.1 billion, or over Rs 380 billion, and fulfilled more than 23,000 orders. The platform is also used regularly by more than 550 MSMEs in India alongside large OEM customers.The export ..

Next Story
Infrastructure Urban

Ramky Infrastructure Q1 FY27 Revenue Rises 24.3%

Ramky Infrastructure Limited reported a 24.3% year-on-year increase in consolidated revenue from operations to Rs 471.2 crore for Q1 FY27, compared with Rs 3.79 billion in the corresponding quarter of FY26.Standalone revenue from operations rose 27.5% YoY to Rs 4.51 billion from Rs 3.54 billion, while total standalone income increased 35% to Rs 5.32 billion.Consolidated profit before tax stood at Rs 540.9 million during the quarter. The company highlighted a sharp sequential improvement compared with a pre-exceptional loss of Rs 190.1 million in Q4 FY26.Two of the three projects awarded during..

Next Story
Technology

LTTS Launches AgenticIQ AI Platform for Engineering

L&T Technology Services (LTTS) has launched AgenticIQ, an end-to-end agentic AI platform designed for engineering and manufacturing organisations.The platform is aimed at helping enterprises move beyond isolated AI pilots by enabling autonomous, multi-agent workflows across engineering, product development, manufacturing, industrial operations and customer experience.AgenticIQ is built on LTTS’ Engineering Intelligence portfolio and converts existing engineering capabilities into specialised, reusable AI agents. Its planning-first architecture is embedded into engineering and production ..

Advertisement

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get daily newsletters around different themes from Construction world.

STAY CONNECTED

Advertisement