The pace of highway building in the country improved to 25 kilometres per day on average this financial year till January, up from 22 km daily for the same period during the previous year, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) data shows. The ministry has spent 2.28 lakh crore, which is about 87 per cent of the outlay.
This year, the ministry has built 7,658 km of national highway till January 31, up from 6,803 during the last financial year. Before that, the ministry built 6,684 km of highway in 2021-22.
The pace of highway building is best in the last three years when the ministry was constructing about 22 kilometres of road each day on average till January. The construction is in line with what the ministry was building during 2018-19 and 2019-20 for the same period. During the year 2020-21, the ministry was building around 30 kilometres of highways per day on average — an exceptionally high figure.
Speaking to News18, a ministry official said they are hopeful that they will build about 13,000 km of national highway this financial year — the target set by the ministry. In the last financial year, the ministry built 10,331 km of national highways. Before that, the numbers were: 10,237 km in 2019-20, 13,327 km in 2020-21, 10,457 km in 2021-22 and 10,331 in 2022-23.
The progress of road building may remain little off-track in the coming month as the term of the current Lok Sabha will end in May and the country will have elections in March-April. It is important to note that during the poll phase, when the model code of conduct (MCC) will be in place, the awarding of new projects will be stopped. However, work on the already awarded project will continue.
When compared to the last year, the awarding of new projects has dropped drastically — from 27 km in 2022-23 on average up to January to just 11 kilometres in 2023-24 for the first 10 months of the financial year.
Till January, the ministry has awarded just 3,481 km of highway projects, down from 8,400 km awarded in the last financial year. However, it is better than the 2018-19 figures when the last Lok Sabha elections were held.
The spending on the ministry is in line with what the government has planned. Since the MCC will be in place most likely around mid-March, the ministry aims to spend the most before that. So far, out of 2.64 lakh crore allocated to MoRTH, the ministry has utilised Rs 2.28 lakh crore — around 87 per cent.
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