As the highway sector shows signs of revival and private investment in projects in PPP mode gathers pace, the Narendra Modi government has expressed the hope of achieving the target of laying 30km a day .
In fact, per day construction of highways was close to 16 km until August-end against last year's record of 13 km. On Thursday , MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said the Prime Minister had set a target of laying 30km of roads per day , increasing it from the current 13 km per day . Road transport and highways ministry officials said that by April next year, 17-18 km of highways would be laid per day and would be increased in the next fiscal year.
Investor interest in roads and highways sector has grown in recent months after the government resolved four major issues responsible for stalled projects or slow progress. Land acquisition has been expedited and in the first five months of this financial year 4,272 sq km have been acquired. “In August, we acquired 1,620 km, which is a rare case. We hope to maintain this pace and people are now taking the compensation since there is clar ity on the applicability of the new Land Acquisition Act,“ said an NHAI official.
While highways minister Nitin Gadkari had told TOI earlier this week that his focus was on monitoring and resolving issues on the ground, which will accelerate the pace of construction, officials said that maintaining the speed of awarding projects for the next twothree years would translate into achieving the 30 km per day target. Last year the total stretches awarded for upgradation or expansion was around 8,000 km and this year the target is at least 10,000 km. “Total construction in a year depends on how much has been awarded in the past three years. This means if we can keep awarding about 10,000 km a year, we will be able to achieve the 30 km target in the next two years,“ said a senior highways ministry official.
Considering that monitoring and quick resolution of issues pertaining to individual projects is another major roadblock for faster completion of projects, Gadkari has also directed all senior officials from his ministry , NHAI and NHIDCL to spend eight days a month in the field.
Moreover, the government has streamlined the prior statutory approvals for construction without any hitches. “We have no dearth of funds as well. Even we may not need to raise the entire Rs 42,000 crore through bonds during this year, as we still have enough of fund. The plan to sell completed highway projects is likely to generate Rs 50,000 crore and that can be used for taking up more projects on government funding mode,“ said a government source.
