<p>Awarding of contracts to build national highway (NH) projects dipped by 37% to 611 km in the first quarter of the current financial year mainly due to issues related to land acquisition even though the pace of construction has picked up, data compiled by rating agency CRISIL showed.</p>.<p>Only 611 km of national highway projects were awarded in April-June 2023 period as against 969 km in the corresponding period last year.</p>.<p>A sharp drop in the first quarter is likely to substantially bring down the whole year figure. During the financial year ended March 2023, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) awarded contracts to build 12,376 km of national highways. This number is expected to come down to 10,000-12,000 km in the current fiscal.</p>.<p>“This fiscal, awarding is expected to moderate a tad, although the strong Bharatmala pipeline is likely to keep awarding healthy at 10,000-12,000 km of national highways,” CRISIL said in a research note.</p>.<p>Awarding of contracts and the pace of construction of the national highways present diverging trends. While there was a sharp drop in the award of contracts, the pace of construction of national highways increased 14% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023-24. This is due to a strong pipeline of awards from previous fiscals.</p>.<p>This fiscal, construction is expected to pick up after the monsoon to 11,500-12,500 km for the full fiscal, which translates to average daily construction of 32-34 km. For the remainder of the year, therefore, the average pace of construction is likely to be 34-37 km per day.</p>.<p>Despite a sharp improvement, the pace of construction of national highways in the current fiscal is likely to be much lower than the government’s target of constructing 45 km of NH per day.</p>.<p>Actual NH construction per day in the financial year 2021-22 stood at 25 km per day. It fell to 22 km per day in the financial year ended March 2023.</p>.<p>In the first quarter of the current financial year the pace of NH construction stood at 25 km per day. In order to achieve the government’s target of 45 km per day of NH construction, the required pace of construction for the remainder of the year is 53 km per day. </p>
<p>Awarding of contracts to build national highway (NH) projects dipped by 37% to 611 km in the first quarter of the current financial year mainly due to issues related to land acquisition even though the pace of construction has picked up, data compiled by rating agency CRISIL showed.</p>.<p>Only 611 km of national highway projects were awarded in April-June 2023 period as against 969 km in the corresponding period last year.</p>.<p>A sharp drop in the first quarter is likely to substantially bring down the whole year figure. During the financial year ended March 2023, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) awarded contracts to build 12,376 km of national highways. This number is expected to come down to 10,000-12,000 km in the current fiscal.</p>.<p>“This fiscal, awarding is expected to moderate a tad, although the strong Bharatmala pipeline is likely to keep awarding healthy at 10,000-12,000 km of national highways,” CRISIL said in a research note.</p>.<p>Awarding of contracts and the pace of construction of the national highways present diverging trends. While there was a sharp drop in the award of contracts, the pace of construction of national highways increased 14% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023-24. This is due to a strong pipeline of awards from previous fiscals.</p>.<p>This fiscal, construction is expected to pick up after the monsoon to 11,500-12,500 km for the full fiscal, which translates to average daily construction of 32-34 km. For the remainder of the year, therefore, the average pace of construction is likely to be 34-37 km per day.</p>.<p>Despite a sharp improvement, the pace of construction of national highways in the current fiscal is likely to be much lower than the government’s target of constructing 45 km of NH per day.</p>.<p>Actual NH construction per day in the financial year 2021-22 stood at 25 km per day. It fell to 22 km per day in the financial year ended March 2023.</p>.<p>In the first quarter of the current financial year the pace of NH construction stood at 25 km per day. In order to achieve the government’s target of 45 km per day of NH construction, the required pace of construction for the remainder of the year is 53 km per day. </p>