National Highway Construction Surges To 29 Km Per Day In April-December Period Despite Covid-Induced Lockdown

In a positive development, the daily average national highway construction in the first nine months of FY21 has surged to 29 km per day compared to 26 km per day in the same period last year, reports Times of India.

The development gains significance as the total national highway construction during the nine months from April-December surged from 6,940 km in FY20 to 7,767 km in FY21 despite the construction activity coming to a grinding halt during the first two months due to the nationwide lockdown.

As much as 1,560 km of national highways have been built in December alone, and the Nitin Gadkari led Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has set itself the target to touch 11,000 km by 31 March. Earlier, speaking at an event of Wharton India Economic Forum, Gadkari had said that he was hopeful that by the end of March, the average daily construction could go as high as 35 km.

Meanwhile, it should also be noted that the April-December period also witnessed bidding out of new national highway projects more than double from the same period. The MoRTH has bid out projects involving 7,200 km of national highways in FY21 compared to just 3,434 km in the same period last year.