Bharatmala highways project plagued by cost, time escalation

20 Jul 2022 CW Team

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.

Real Estate

04 Aug 2026

LML Realty Launches Cinema Campaign on Industrial Vision

LML Realty has launched a cinema advertising campaign in partnership with PVR INOX across 81 screens in Gurugram and Faridabad, showcasing the brand’s transformation from a mobility icon to an industrial infrastructure developer.The campaign features a cinematic brand film tracing LML’s journey since 1972, beginning with its iconic scooters and highlighting its evolution into creating infrastructure solutions that support India’s manufacturing growth.The film focuses on LML Industrial Park at Jhirka Valley, the company’s flagship industrial development approved under the Haryana Govern..

IIM Ahmedabad Publishes Case Study on HoABL’s Business Model

The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) has published a case study on The House of Abhinandan Lodha (HoABL), examining the company’s digital-first consumer journey and business model that created India’s branded land category.Titled “HoABL: Ready for Scaling Up”, the case study has been published by the IIMA Case Centre and co-authored by Sourav Borah, Associate Professor of Marketing at IIMA, and Dr Aparna Kansal of IMT Ghaziabad. IIMA case studies are used across management and executive education programmes to help students and business leaders analyse strategic decision..

Advait Energy and MEIL Partner for Energy Transition Projects

Advait Energy Transitions Limited (AETL) and Manipal Energy Infratech Limited (MEIL), a company of The Manipal Group, have entered into a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on power and energy transition opportunities across India and international markets.The partnership aims to combine AETL’s expertise in innovative energy technologies and manufacturing with MEIL’s EPC execution capabilities and project management experience. The collaboration will focus on opportunities across Power Transmission & Distribution, Renewable Energy, Battery Energy Storage Systems..