New SOP announced for highway projects worth over Rs 5 bn

All road development agencies, including the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and state governments, now need to submit proposals for highway projects to the Network Planning Group (NPG) in a prescribed format, as per the revised standard operating procedure (SOP) issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). The new SOP applies to new greenfield projects which are not part of Bharatmala Pariyojana or the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (NMP) and cost more than Rs 5 billion. The note from the MoRTH says that all the project authorities like NHAI, National Highways and Infrastructure Development Ltd (NHIDCL), project zones of the ministry and the Border Road Organisation (BRO) must submit a report on the proposed project with PowerPoint presentation and forward it to the Planning Zone for seeking the convenience of the NPG. The presentation will comprise all details including planning aspects of the project like logistics, multi-modal points and complementarity or synergy with other infrastructure requirements. The convenience of NPG shall be sought by the ministry for organising meetings for discussion on the project and once the meeting notice is received, the project proponent shall present the project to the NPG.