Road project construction enters slow lane in April
PremiumThe road ministry had set a target of 14,600km of highways in FY22—or 40km of construction in a day
NEW DELHI : Highway construction in India fell 32% from a year earlier in April in a setback to the government’s ambitious plan to build more cross-country highways and speed up economic development.
Only 578km of highways were built in the first month of this fiscal, according to data from the road transport ministry. This marked a sharp retreat from the government’s target of building 50km a day of highways in the year through March 2023, up from less than 30km a day last year.
While the government has not provided any reason for the weak performance in April, an official in the road transport ministry said disruptions from the Omicron wave and a prolonged monsoon prevented the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) from completing the targeted 12,000km last year, with the trend continuing in April.
“Things should improve in the coming months as awards and construction pick up pace. The real pickup could be seen in the second half of the year, post-monsoon," said the official, asking not to be named.
The latest data from the ministry showed that 578km of national highways were built in April, a sharp decline from 853km a year earlier. The award figure during the month stood at 201km, falling from last year’s 311km.
The muted April performance tracks a more than 20% drop in construction of national highways last fiscal to 10,457km from 13,327km in FY21.
This could make it difficult for the government to reach its target of building 12,000km of highways this fiscal unless the pace of construction accelerates in the coming months. Road transport minister Nitin Gadkari had said that the government is committed to expanding the national highways network with the aim to construct 18,000km of national highways this fiscal at a record speed of 50km per day.
Gadkari tweeted last Thursday that the overall target is to develop 200,000km of national highways by 2025.
The road ministry had originally set a target of 14,600km of highways in 2021-22—or 40km of construction per day—up from the 13,327km target for the previous year. It later scaled it down to 12,000km.
According to government data, highway construction fell to its lowest in four years to 21.3km per day during April-November in FY22 before rebounding in March when over 2,400km of highways were constructed, compared with an average of 25.8km/day in the same period in FY21.
It was 24.8 km/day in FY20 and 24 km/day in FY19—both pre-pandemic years when construction was picking up pace.
The slower pace of highway development last fiscal was unexpected considering that the sector had earlier continued its robust performance despite several disruptions.
In a normal year, construction picks up pace post-monsoon but the extended monsoon followed by the third wave of covid delayed awards and construction in the year to March. Senior ministry officials said in FY23, construction of about 12,000km of national highways may be taken up, which is close to 33km per day. The aim of the government is to take up daily construction to 50km per day, but officials indicated that for this to happen, at least a two-year wait would be needed.
Queries sent to ministry of road transport and highways on Sunday evening did not elicit a response till press time.