Govt Sets Lowest Highway Construction Target in Seven Years

The government of India has set a national highway (NH) construction target of 10,000 km for 2025-26, the lowest target in 7 years per the Budget document. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways continues to push for even more kilometers of high-speed corridors, with 5,800 km of new expressways and widened highways planned for this year, despite the downturn.

The target could see an upward revision, but construction will continue at a slow pace overall with fewer projects on the ground. This is mainly due to lower project awards in 2023-24 and the ongoing financial year, which will impact road development over the next two years.

As for infrastructure monetization, the Ministry has set a target to raise ₹30,000 crore by monetizing already constructed highway projects and also aims to attract ₹35,000 crore towards private investment. It has also allocated ₹ 128 crore to implement cashless treatments for Road accident victims in all states and Union territories. At present, this scheme is operational in Assam, Chandigarh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Puducherry.

Road safety is still a priority area for you, and the government plans to clear 1,000 black spots on highways and audit 40,000 km of road safety in accident-prone areas.

NH construction has seen ups and downs over the years, as 10,237 km of NHs were constructed in 2019-20 — the least in the past many years and a record 13,327 km in 2020-21 despite the odds of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the year 2023-24, 12,349 km of highways were constructed and this growth is expected to hit about 10,500 km till March 2025. By mid-February, 8,000 km of highways had been finished.

The lowered construction target also has implications for the future of infrastructure development in the country, but the Ministry’s focus on expressways, private investments, and road safety measures suggests a strategic shift towards quality rather than quantity in highway expansion.