The pace of National Highways (NH) construction in India dropped to 29 kilometres per day in the last financial year, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.
As per a report, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, said the construction rate during 2023–24 was 34 kilometres per day. The highest pace of construction was recorded in 2020–21, at 37 kilometres per day.
NH construction and Bharatmala update
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is responsible for the development and maintenance of NHs, including expressways. According to Gadkari, the ministry constructed 10,660 kilometres of NHs in 2024–25, 12,349 kilometres in 2023–24, and 10,331 kilometres in 2022–23.
“Projects of 26,425 kilometres have been awarded under Bharatmala Pariyojana, out of which 20,770 kilometres have been constructed so far, including 2,967 kilometres during FY 2024–25,” he said.
Greenfield corridors and GatiShakti
The minister said NH development projects, including access-controlled High Speed Corridors (HSCs) and expressways, are planned in line with the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (NMP) principles.
He said the government is prioritising greenfield access-controlled corridors to improve logistics efficiency. “Accordingly, 26 greenfield corridors in about 7,500 kilometres have been awarded and, additionally, about 600 kilometres have already been approved,” he said.
Of this, about 4,800 kilometres have been constructed so far, and 2,636 kilometres are operational. The remaining sections are planned to be operationalised over the next two years.
Gadkari added that the GatiShakti NMP portal shows economic zones and required infrastructure linkages with the objective of integrating multimodal connectivity projects. It also helps identify missing gaps for movement of people, goods, and services.
