Highway construction fails to achieve FY23 target

Highway building in the country stood at 4,766 km as of November 30, 2022, compared to a target of 12,200 km in 2022-2023, according to Nitin Gadkari, federal minister of road, transport, and highways. According to the government, construction slowed in the first half of 2022-2023 due to the intervening monsoon, but sped up in the second half. Gadkari stated that between April and November 2022-2023, around 2,038 km of 4/6/8 lane national highways were built, which is more than the 1,806 km built the previous year. The length of two-lane national highways built this fiscal year was 1,607 kilometres, compared to 1,747 kilometres built the previous fiscal year. The government is regularly reviewing sanctioned projects, and 719 delayed national highway projects have been found throughout several states as part of this operation, according to the ministry. Out of the 2,431 ongoing projects in the country, approximately 719 are running behind schedule due to a protracted monsoon, above-average rainfall in some states, the Covid-19 pandemic, increases in raw material prices, particularly steel, issues with land acquisition, and statutory clearances, among other factors. The minister also stated that no additional costs will be incurred as a result of the delayed projects. See also: Apr to Aug sees 19 km per day slowdown in highway constructionHighway building slows to 19.44 km per day in first half