Image is for representational purposes only. File | Photo credit: Mustafah KK
The Center plans to award 10,000 kilometers of national highway projects by the end of financial year 2026, recovering from a slowdown that saw annual awards fall from 12,000 km to 6,000 km over the past three years, a senior government official said.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways expects new approvals to reach 10,000 km in the current financial year, falling to 7,500 km in FY2024, and 6,000 km in FY2025 after reaching 12,000 km in FY2023, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways Secretary V. Umashankar told reporters V.
The government is also confident of awarding 9,000 km projects out of its 10,000 km target. The delay is due to the government’s focus on backlog projects that have been approved but not yet awarded. A total of 4,500 km long projects remained pending award, of which 3,500 km have now been awarded, the official explained.
Generally on track: official
In terms of construction of highways, the government again hopes to achieve its target of 10,000 km in this financial year. As of October 2025, 3,200 km of NH projects have been completed compared to 3,700 km during the same period last year. Mr. Umashankar said performance was broadly on track, noting that delayed monsoons also affected progress.
The top official explained that the awarding of new projects was delayed because the government prioritized the implementation of pending projects from previous years. By April 2024, 154 projects were delayed, falling below 100 and expected to further decrease to around 60 by the end of this fiscal year.
The official explained that the government has taken several steps to reduce the time between project approval and its commissioning date, including a requirement to complete 90% of land acquisition for those awarded under the Build, Operate, Transfer (BOT) and Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) modes, up to 90% for a number of projects awarded under the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) mode.
The timeline from approval to acquisition is expected to be reduced by a year, streamlining the entire process.
When asked if the government expected its capital expenditure (capex) to decrease for the next financial year due to backlog of projects from previous years, the official said they expected it to “catch up”.
A total of 5,614 km of state highways were built last year against a target of 5,150 km. Capital expenditure by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in the financial year 2024–25 for the development of national highway infrastructure has reached an all-time high of over ₹2.5 crore. In the Union Budget 2025–26, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has been allocated a total expenditure of ₹2,87,333 crore. The capex component of this allocation was approximately ₹2.72 crore.
Published – 15 Nov 2025 19:50 IST
