MoRTH to revise road building targets for the fiscal

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has announced its decision to increase the daily road construction targets for the current financial year. Previously set at 12,500 km, the new target will push the pace of road building upward, resulting in approximately 34 km of road construction per day. The ministry plans to employ a mix of engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) models, as well as Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) models for these road projects.

With the development of new highways, the ministry anticipates a significant increase in toll collection. It aims for toll collection to reach Rs 1.25 lakh crore by FY'29, which marks a nearly three-fold jump from the toll collection of Rs 4,770 crore in FY'14 and a ten-fold increase to Rs 41,000 crore in FY'23. The monetization plan of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways involves Toll-Operate-Transfer (TOT) contracts and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) facilitated by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

Efforts are underway to improve project timelines, including addressing challenges related to land acquisition and environmental concerns, for the implementation of the second phase of the Bharatmala project. The government is prioritizing the resolution of these challenges to ensure smooth progress.