Page 11 - Construction_Opportunities_March_2023

COVER STORY

Fast Facts
 The last decade has witnessed India building its road
connectivity at a very fast rate and the national
highway network is set to rise 37% in the next two years.
 As per the latest data from ministry of road transport
and highways (MoRTH), highway construction in the
country reached 7,803 km in FY23 upto January end.
 NHAI has awarded a total of 8,400 km of highways upto
January this year against award of just 6,883 km in the
same period last year. Increase in award is indicative
of improving health of the sector with rising appetite for
contractors to pick up projects.
 NHAI is also encouraging the use of waste plastic in
the construction of road projects. Several studies have
established that roads built using plastic waste are
durable and sustainable. It also increases the life of the
bitumen. The construction of one kilometer of a 4-lane
highway helps in the disposal of around seven tons of
plastic waste.

order to achieve its target of US$5 trillion economy by 2025, the
country has zeroed in on investing in the development of power
plants, dams, bridges, highways, railways and urban infrastructure.
In Budget 2023-2024 the government has planned to significantly
increase their capital expenditure by 33% (10 lakh crore), which
makes up to 3.3 % of GDP. To improve the road network and
connectivity of the nation, the government has planned to spend
`2.7 lakh crore on roads, out of which `1.62 lakh crore is allotted
to NHAI which is 21% higher than the previous year. In the year
Infrastructural development plays a pivotal role in driving the overall 2021-2022, NHAI successfully constructed 10,457 km of highways
growth of the economy. India made a crucial development in and awarded contracts of 12,731 km, which has improved the
the field of infrastructure during 2022. Integrating with ‘Make in connectivity multifold.
India’ and the production-linked incentives (PLI) scheme, the The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has taken
Central Government launched the National Infrastructure Pipeline various initiatives to boost the road network across the country. In
to boost the development of the infrastructure sector. “As India a bid to reach and connect the remotest part of the country, the
completes 75 years of Independence, the nation is evolving into a government has taken several initiatives to augment the capacity
prominent force in the global economic order. India is the world’s of the National Highway infrastructure in India. In this context, the
fifth largest economy and the prospect of steady progress in the government has recently announced the construction of a National
coming years is bright. Here, the critical role played by infrastructure Highway (NH) in Nagaland and the development of an NH in Kerala.
in economic growth cannot be overemphasised. Investing in high- While this is just one of the projects being mentioned, the list of
quality infrastructure is crucial for accelerating economic growth development is quite impressive. One of them being the recent
and sustaining it in the long run,” the Economic Survey highlighted. inauguration of 119 km Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway project on
The country has been investing heavily in transportation, energy, NH-275, which is a 6-10 lane access-controlled highway developed
and telecommunications sectors, and has made significant at a cost of `8,480 crore by the ministry of road transport and
improvements in the availability and quality of these services. In highway.

MARCH 2023|CONSTRUCTION OPPORTUNITIES 11