Higher commodity prices curb highway construction projects

21 Jun 2022 CW Team

A significant rise in commodity prices has taken a toll on the construction of highways in India.

During the first two months of the current fiscal year (FY), highway construction stood at just 21 km a day, compared to 24 km a day during the same period in the last FY and 29 km per day in FY22.

The pace of highway construction is higher than that of the Covid-19 pandemic year in the first two months of 2020. For FY22-23, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) had set a target of 50 km per day for highway construction.

In the April-May period of the current FY, a total of 1,307 km of highway has been constructed by all the implementing agencies, including the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

Analysts recorded a decline in the pace of construction due to high prices of construction materials like cement, steel and bitumen. The prices of such commodities have started lowering due to the onset of the monsoon might curb the pace of construction in the next two months.

The price hike and the high volatility in commodity prices, after witnessing a huge increase in the second half (H2) of FY22, have made some of the contractors wait and watch. It has affected the pace of execution of the projects in the first two months.

Lowering the prices of some commodities like steel, etc., the pace of execution should improve.

Project awards dropped to just 496 km in the April-May period of this FY, as against 663 km during the same period in the last FY and 747 km a year before. MoRTH aims to award an 18,000 km highway construction project in the current FY.

Image Source

Also read: Ways to deal with the current construction materials prices hike

Infrastructure Urban

02 Jun 2026

VECV Sales Rise 7.8 Per Cent In May 2026

VE Commercial Vehicles recorded sales of 7,978 units in May 2026, compared to 7,401 units in May 2025, registering growth of 7.8 per cent. This included 7,789 units from the Eicher brand and 189 units from the Volvo brand.Eicher branded trucks and buses reported sales of 7,789 units during the month, up 7.3 per cent from 7,258 units a year earlier. In the domestic commercial vehicle market, Eicher sales rose 9.1 per cent to 7,375 units from 6,758 units in May 2025.Exports declined 17.2 per cent to 414 units from 500 units in the corresponding month last year. Volvo Trucks and Volvo Buses recor..

Table Space Strengthens DESYN Leadership Team

Table Space has announced strategic leadership appointments within DESYN, its integrated Design and Build business, as it looks to strengthen operations across key enterprise and GCC markets in India. DESYN was launched as a strategic extension of Table Space’s workspace solutions portfolio to meet rising demand for agile, high-quality and rapidly deployable enterprise workspaces.Shruti Ookabhoy has joined DESYN as Executive Director and will lead the Design vertical, focusing on design capability, operational excellence and team development across markets. She brings over 22 years of experi..

Concord Associate Bags Rs 2.79 Bn Kavach Order

Concord Control Systems said its associate company, Progota India, has received a Rs 2.79 bn domestic order from Indian Railways for the supply, installation, testing and commissioning of on-board Kavach 4.0 loco equipment.The order is scheduled for execution within 12 months and strengthens Concord’s role in India’s railway safety and signalling ecosystem. Kavach is India’s indigenous automatic train protection system, designed to improve operational safety by helping prevent signal passing at danger and reducing collision risks.Gaurav Lath, Joint Managing Director, Concord Control Syst..