RoadMin aims to spend over 90% capex by Dec

The Road Transport and Highways Ministry aims to spend over 90% of its Rs 2.59 lakh crore capital expenditure (capex) earmarked in Budget 2023-24 by December 2023. This expenditure will be for developing roads across the country with an aim to complete 310 National Highways (NH) projects by the end of the calendar year.Sector watchers say the months following December 2023 would see a slowing down of construction activity with the model code of conduct coming into force in a year of assembly and parliamentary elections.The aim is to achieve 91% gross budgetary support capital expenditure by December 2023, a senior official said.According to government estimates, Rs 99,273 crore was spent as capex in the first three months of the current financial year, slightly down from Rs 1.02 lakh crore in the same months of the previous fiscal.Of this, Rs 79,015 crore was spent this year under the Bharatmala Pariyojana, the flagship highway creation programme of the centre. This resulted in 2,250 km of highways being built in the country between April-June 2023, up from 1,977 km in the April-June 2022 period. Award of highways stood at 611 km during the months under review, down from 969 km in the comparable period of the last fiscal.