Govt Will Roll Out Highway Projects Worth Rs 50,000 Crore This Year; Aims To Develop 4500 Kms Of National Highways

The central government is targeting its efforts on providing a solid highway network that links the border regions. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is expected to award 2,000-kilometer highway projects this fiscal year, bringing the total duration of highway projects in the current fiscal year to about 4,350 kilometers.

According to a report, the authority is expected to bid out projects worth about Rs 50,000 crore in the first quarter, beginning in April. Following the Covid Lockdown, which had a significant effect on the Indian economy, construction activities and the awarding of road projects have picked up across the country in the current fiscal year. 

NHAI Is Ramping Up The Pipeline Of Highway Projects

 In the previous financial year, the NHAI awarded highway projects worth Rs 80,000 crores with a total length of 3,217 kilometers. “We are in the process of building a strong pipeline of projects,” the official told ET. “Bids for around 2,000 km length of projects are under evaluation, and we should be able to award at least 1,500 km,” the NHAI official added.

 “We will start Q1 FY22 with around 2,500 km of bids to be awarded,” the official said.

So far this fiscal year, the authority has awarded highways totaling 2,350 kilometers in length and worth Rs 1.3 lakh crore. Bids for another 2,000 kilometers are expected to be awarded within the next two weeks, according to a senior NHAI official familiar with the situation, quoting update from Hindustan Times

NHAI To Prioritize Its Delayed Road Projects. 

In its most recent report to Parliament, the standing committee on transport, tourism, and culture requested that the NHAI prioritize its backlog of road projects.

Despite the fact that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’ road project awarding activity has picked up immediately after the covid pandemic, project completion is becoming a major concern for the authorities. A parliamentary standing committee on transport, tourism, and culture has already requested that the delayed highway projects be prioritized.

According to the committee, 888 highway projects worth approximately Rs 3.15 lakh crore have been delayed so far. According to the committee’s report, the ministry and its agencies should focus on completing previously announced projects rather than announcing new ones.