Pace of National Highway Construction Nearly Halved Since 2020-21, 19.5 km Built Per Day, Shows Data

The pace of construction of national highways has nearly halved this financial year when compared to the 2020-21 fiscal, as it dropped from 36.5 km per day to about 19.5 km per day.

According to official data released by the ministry of road transport and highways on Wednesday, which was analysed by News18, up to December 29, 2022, in this financial year – the end of the third quarter – it has constructed 5,337 km of national highways. So, on an average, it constructed 19.5 km of national highways per day. The current fiscal will end on March 31.

While the ministry has not issued any reason behind this drop in pace, an official said road construction was a complex process and depended on a number of factors.

“There are a lot of reasons impacting road construction. It can range from land acquisition or monsoon, or even availability of raw material. The ministry is trying its best to maintain the high pace of NH (national highway) construction,” an official requesting anonymity told News18.

The ministry also said it awarded 6,318 km of national highways till December 29, 2022.

In the 2020-21 financial year – which had the Covid-induced lockdown – the ministry constructed 13,327 km of national highways. This means that on an average, it constructed about 36.5 km per day. The overall NH construction this year was also lower than in 2021-22, when the ministry constructed 10,457 km.

The ministry said the pace of NH construction between 2014-15 and 2021-22 had increased consistently, but data showed that it was on the rise between 2014-15 and 2018-19. In the 2019-20 fiscal, 10,237 km of national highways were constructed against the previous year’s 10,855 km.

50% increase in NH length since 2014-15

In 2014-15, the length of national highways in India was 97,830 km, which has now increased to over 1.44 lakh km in 2022, shows data as on November 30. The total length has increased by about 50 percent since 2014-15.

“As on November 30, 2022, the total length of national highways in the country was 1,44,634 km,” the ministry said.

National highways play an important role in the economic and social development of the country by enabling efficient movement of freight and passengers as well as improving access to markets.

“MoRTH and its agencies have implemented multiple initiatives in the last eight years to augment the capacity of the national highway infrastructure in India,” the ministry said.

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