News Brief
Over 3,600 Km Of High-Speed Corridors Built In Last Five Years, National Highway Construction Pace Jumps To 31 Km Per Day
A national highway. (Representational Image).
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has constructed a total length of over 3,600 km of high-speed corridors during the last five years, the Parliament was informed on Wednesday (2 April).
"The Government in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has constructed total length of about 3,660 km High-Speed Corridors during the last five years," Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.
The minister also noted that the average pace of the construction of National Highways has increased to 31 km per day in the last five financial years (FY20-FY24).
"The average pace of construction of National Highways (NHs) during the last five years from 2019-20 to 2023-24, was about 31 km per day, as compared to about 22 km per day during the previous five-year period from 2014-15 to 2018-19," Gadkari said.
During this time (FY20 to FY24), Maharashtra led the construction charts with over 9,300 km of NHs built, followed by Rajasthan (4,148 km), Uttar Pradesh (4,016 km), Madhya Pradesh (3,921 km), Andhra Pradesh (2,686 km), and Tamil Nadu (2,626 km).
In terms of expanding capacity, more than 22,000 km of four-lane and higher configuration NHs (excluding High-Speed Corridors) were also constructed.
Maharashtra again topped the list with 3,140 km, followed by Uttar Pradesh (2,200 km), Madhya Pradesh (1,222 km), Odisha (1,122), Karnataka (1,088 km), and Tamil Nadu (1,030 km).
The minister said that the government has taken several steps to enhance road infrastructure, including:
Promoting integrated planning through the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan.
Increasing budget allocations and leveraging private investment via PPP models and innovative financing like InvIT.
Preparing a shelf of DPRs in advance for faster project rollout.
Streamlining land acquisition via the Bhoomi Rashi portal and speeding up environmental, forest, and wildlife clearances through the PARIVESH portal.
Strengthening the domestic contractor base and overhauling the dispute resolution framework.
Engaging private sector experts for project supervision and deploying digital tools such as GIS, mobile apps, drones, and real-time online monitoring systems.
Encouraging adoption of new technologies, and investing in knowledge sharing and capacity building to ensure long-term infrastructure readiness.
