Will exceed highways construction target this fiscal, says NHAI

NEW DELHI: NHAI today said it will "certainly exceed" the current financial year's target of constructing 3,500 km of highways, which may require extra expenditure.

"Our award target is 6,500 km and construction target is 3,500 Km. We have to exceed this (target). Certainly we will exceed this target," National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) Chairman Deepak Kumar said.

He was speaking to reporters after the launch of new website of NHAI and Project Monitoring Information System (PMIS) Mobile app here.

"The moment we exceed it (the target) there would be extra expenditure. Right now I would not be able to say what would be (extra) expenditure. But the expenditure will exceed.

It will exceed our budgetary allocation," he said.

The decision on the extra expenditure -- whether it would come from borrowing or budgetary supplement -- is yet to taken, he added.

The board, Kumar said, has approved the monetisation of operational highway projects. Under the scheme, nine highway projects will be auctioned by this month-end which would generate Rs 6,700 crore.

"The board has approved it (monetisation of operational highway projects) and by October end will be bring it. There is a target we will do before it... There are a total of nine projects (its total cost, the bid amount is Rs 6,700)," he said.

Last year, NHAI had been authorised by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs to monetise the public-funded highway projects for mobilising funds.

Elaborating further the Chairman said, "We will come out with one RFP (Request For Proposal) in October and we will come out with two more RFP by March 31st."

On fund raising, he said: "(till August) we have raised 19,880 crore from the market in which LIC is Rs 8,500 crore and EPFO is Rs 5,000 crore", among others.