NHAI achieves highest ever construction of NHs


The National Highways of Authority of India (NHAI) has accomplished construction of 3,979 km of national highways in financial year FY2019-20. This is the highest ever highway construction achieved in a financial year by NHAI. The
construction pace  as noticed in last years has seen a steady growth with 3,380 km construction in FY2018-19. Continuing the same trend with the development of 3,979 km of national highways  during FY2019-20, NHAI has achieved an all-time high construction since its inception in 1995.

The government has envisaged a very ambitious highway development programme , namely Bharatmala Pariyojana which includes development of about 65,000 km national highways. Under Phase-I of Bharatmala Pariyojana , the government has approved implementation of 34,800 km of national highways with a very stiff target of five years with an outlay of Rs 5,350 billion. NHAI has been mandated development of about 27,500 km of national highways under Bharatmala Pariyojna Phase-I.

In order to accelerate the pace of construction, a large number of initiatives have been taken to revive the stalled projects and expedite completion of new projects, said a press release by NHAI. These include:

  • Streamlining of land acquisition and acquisition of major portion of land prior to invitation of bids.
  • Award of projects  after adequate project preparation in terms of land acquisition, clearances, etc.
  • Disposal of cases in respect of Change of Scope (CoS) and Extension of Time (EoT) in a time bound manner
  • Procedure for approval of General Arrangement Drawing for ROBs simplified and made online.
  • Close coordination with other ministries and state governments.
  • One time fund infusion.
  • Regular review at various levels and identification or removal of bottlenecks in project execution.
  • Proposed exit for equity investors.
  • Securitisation of road sector loans.
  • Disputes resolution mechanism revamped to avoid delays in completion of projects.
  • With the increased pace of highway development, NHAI has achieved construction of 3,979 km of national highways in FY2019-20 and is committed to provide a smooth ride  on national highways in the country, said the release.

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