News Brief
Highway Construction Reached Record Speed Of 30.5 Km Per Day In FY21 From 25.2 Km Per Day In FY20 Despite Pandemic
Swarajya Staff
Mar 02, 2021, 12:16 PM | Updated 12:16 PM IST
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
The pace of highway construction touched the record high of 30 km per day mark in the fiscal year 2020-21 as compared to 28 km per day in 2019-20 despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
Adjusting for the first 20 days of April 2020 wherein no construction activity was allowed, the execution per day saw a growth of 21 per cent to 30.5 km per day in the first nine months of the current fiscal from 25.2 km per day day in the same period last fiscal.
In the past, it was only in 2018-19 that the pace of building of highways touched the 30 km per day mark.
Construction of one kilometre 10-lane highway is still measured as one km and the same holds true for 2-lane highway.
Reportedly, February-March period of the current fiscal is witnessing even speedier construction.
The minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari has set the goal of achieving the pace of 40 km per day construction soon. The pace touched a record of 76 km a day in the week commencing 8 January, Financial Express quoted its sources as saying.
The recent slew of measures taken by the government - like shifting from milestone-based billing (typically ranging between 45-75 days) to monthly billing and release of retention money; performance security in proportion to the work already executed, etc. - have helped in reducing cash conversion cycle favouring the contractors. Hence, the increase in the construction pace.
“The recent relaxation of financial capacity and widening the definition of core sector (technical capacity) by including segments like hospitals, hotels, oil & gas, warehouses, among others, will drive more EPC players towards infrastructure projects, especially road, which is already overcrowded. The competitive intensity is expected to increase manifold. If the liquidity boosting measures are continued; this along with relaxation in qualifications for bidders could result in steep rise in execution- more than 40 km/day going forward,” said ICRA’s Rajeshwar Burla.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman provided the highest-ever Rs 1.18-lakh crore capital outlay for the ministry of road transport and highways Budget 2021-22.
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.