11km of Highways being built daily

Construction of highways, which had dipped to dismal levels over the past few years, has picked up pace. According to official data, 11km of roads are being added every day. If the trend is sustained, the UPA government could well be on track to achieving 20km per day by the time it completes its second term in 2014 as the pace of construction is likely to accelerate about two-fold in the next two years, thanks to a significant increase in the bidding for projects since 2010. Also, meticulous project management over the past two-and-a-half years, transparency in the bidding process and faster awarding of contracts have helped step up road building. Experts say the declining activity in other construction sectors such as real estate have shifted the attention of contractors to road construction. India’s highway construction attracted global attention when the NDA government under then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee built spanking new highways connecting major cities, cutting down travel time and boosting economic activity. When the UPA took over in 2004, road building lost momentum after the frenetic pace at which work was carried out under the NDA. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials said the increase in the number of projects awarded in 2010-11, pegged at about 5,080 km, would help push construction. According to sources, highway construction and project awards saw a revival after Kamal Nath took charge as highways minister in 2009. The ministry’s performance improved after the NHAI awarded a record length of projects over the past two-and-a-half years. In the current fiscal year, the NHAI has awarded 2,591 km of highways, while another 1,700 km are likely to be awarded in the next two months. Experts said C P Joshi, who took charge of the ministry from Nath, has maintained continuity. They say the ministry and the NHAI have ushered in transparency in the bidding process, boosting sentiment.
Against a target of 7,300km of national highways, NHAI has awarded 2,591km; another 2,659 km to be awarded in 4 months
8,917km NH built during NDA rule 17,236 km built during UPA-I tenure; 10,000km under UPA-II