Despite the Covid pandemic and rainy season, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has constructed 3,385 km of national highways (NH) so far in the financial year 2021-22.

The pace of construction stood at 21.8 km per day, and the ministry has awarded projects of 3,068 km of NHs during this period.

"MoRTH constructed 3,385.02 km of National Highways in the current Financial Year 2021-22 (till 2 September), whereas it awarded projects of 3,068.26 km of NHs during this period. The pace of construction stood at 21.8 km/day," the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said.

Recently, Union Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said that he aims to achieve over 100 km per day of highway construction.

"We have a world record of making 38 km per day [of highway]... I am not satisfied with the present performance. My target is going up to more than 100 km per day," Gadkari said while virtually addressing a CII event.

The minister further said that he wants to make the road infrastructure in India at par with the US standard.

"To reduce vehicular congestion on existing highways, we are focusing more on greenfield expressways. Across these green alignments, we want to develop logistics parks, smart cities, industrial hubs, infrastructure clusters etc," said Gadkari.

Also, he sought industry support to connect the government with those willing to participate in the green projects in the country.