In a significant move aimed at infrastructure development and economic stimulus, the Indian government is set to embark on a massive road construction spree, with plans to award ₹3 trillion worth of road projects within the next six months. This ambitious initiative is strategically timed to coincide with the run-up to the upcoming general elections, and it aims to pave the way for the construction of an impressive 10,000 kilometres of roads across the nation.
A Landmark Initiative
This endeavour is poised to become one of the largest road project awards ever undertaken in a six-month period. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has set its sights on completing a whopping 12,500 kilometres of highway awards by the end of the fiscal year 2023-24. This target represents a substantial increase compared to the past few years and underscores the government’s commitment to infrastructure development.
Expanding the Project Pipeline
Government authorities responsible for construction have been hard at work in recent months, identifying and finalising new stretches of road for bidding. This proactive approach has breathed new life into a project pipeline that had experienced a slowdown not long ago. Furthermore, the government has made it a priority to resolve all pending issues related to land acquisition before projects are put up for bidding, ensuring smoother progress.
One of the individuals familiar with the situation commented, “Suddenly, from a squeeze in the project pipeline a few months back, there is a situation where more and more projects are ready for bidding. This should give a push to highway construction and awards that have remained a bit slow for the past two-and-a-half years.”
Challenges Along the Way
Despite the government’s efforts, highway construction faced challenges, particularly in the wake of the monsoon season, which caused delays in project finalisation. In the first five months of the current fiscal year, MoRTH managed to construct only 3,196 kilometres of highways out of a target of 13,800 kilometres for the entire year. The awards for the April-August period were even lower, at just 1,756 kilometres, falling short of last year’s figure of 2,706 kilometres.
Nevertheless, the government remains optimistic that the pace of highway construction will accelerate significantly to align with annual construction and award targets.
Fulfilling Ambitious Targets
The highway award target for the fiscal year 2023-24 has been set at 12,500 kilometres, slightly higher than the 12,375 kilometres awarded in the previous fiscal year. The National Highways Authority of India, the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation, and MoRTH are the primary agencies responsible for these project awards.
Many of these projects were originally part of the ambitious Bharatmala project, offering a robust pipeline of 34,800 kilometres of road projects, with a projected completion date of fiscal year 2027-28. Additionally, MoRTH is in the process of finalising its Vision 2047 document, which will introduce new alignments for approximately 30,000 kilometres of fenced-off highways, ready for bidding.
Aiming for Rapid Progress
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, highway construction in the fiscal year 2019-20 covered 10,237 kilometres at an impressive daily rate of 28.04 kilometres. The pace surged during the first year of the pandemic (FY21), with lockdown measures expediting construction, resulting in a record-breaking 13,327 kilometres of highways built at an astonishing rate of 36.51 kilometres per day. In FY22, progress slowed once again, with 10,457 kilometres constructed at 28.64 kilometres per day.
MoRTH’s vision includes achieving construction rates exceeding 40 kilometres per day, a goal that will demand unprecedented efforts from highway construction agencies in the remaining months of fiscal year 2023-24 to reach the annual target.
Financial Backing for Success
To ensure the successful completion of these vital road projects, the Ministry of Finance has allocated ₹2.58 trillion in budgetary support to MoRTH, an increase from the ₹2.06 trillion allocated in the previous year. Notably, ₹1.12 trillion of this allocation has already been utilised, emphasising the government’s commitment to infrastructure development as a catalyst for economic growth.
