Connectivity to remote and difficult terrain, bridging key points in the road network, an integrated multi-modal national network of transport and logistics, and going ahead with an ambitious voluntary vehicle scrappage policy are also on the 2022 radar.
“The next calendar year is going to be better (in terms of national highway construction) than the current year… Next year, we are expecting that many of the projects that are being bid for have been awarded this year and Those who have come to a certain stage, will be completed,” Union Road Transport Secretary Giridhar Armane told PTI.
While the pandemic ravaged many sectors at different times in the last nearly two years, the road sector was grappling with roadblocks but progress in terms of national highway construction was stellar.
Armane pointed out that due to the monsoon, the government agencies involved in the construction of national highways faced some problems during August and September in some states.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) aims to build 40 km of National Highways every day in the current financial year. This target is more than the record construction of 37 kms per day during the period 2019-20.
“Our achievement could be much higher than the current financial year. We have a pipeline for awards next year under the Bharatmala project and the National Highways Common Programme,” Armane said in an interview.
MoRTH has identified the projects that need to be taken up under Bharatmala project next year.
“Many of them are important greenfield projects and many others are under the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP),” he said and stressed that these projects will help “provide logistics efficiency to the Indian economy”.
As part of strengthening the infrastructure in the country, which aims to become a US$ 5 trillion economy, building high quality roads and ensuring smooth connectivity is a major priority.
He said, “We have identified the congested points in the country which need to be cleared as well as those economic hubs which have heavy traffic flow. Hence, they should be connected by efficient roads. “
With regard to monetization of road assets, the Secretary informed that all roads built by state agencies are monetized for short term, ranging from 1-3 years, or for longer tenures of 15-25 years.
“So, as soon as we complete the construction of the road, we will toll it for a year, if the market outlook is not good. If the appetite is good, we will do it for 3 years or so under Infrastructure Investment Trust ( InvIT) or under Toll Operate Transfer (ToT) model…” he said.
This year, the first InVIT of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) raised more than 5,000 crores.
Regarding the proposed second InVIT, Aramane said, “We are doing a little planning, around 2,500-3,000 crores. We are in the process of preparing for this issue.”
Under the government’s ambitious National Monetization Pipeline (NMP), the road assets envisaged for monetization during the current financial year is 5,000 km.
The secretary also said that the government is contemplating to secure the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway and the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway.
“We are also thinking of securitization of the Raipur-Visakhapatnam National Highway project, which is going to be the first mineral highway in the country in terms of Visakhapatnam port and other economic hubs with most of the minerals produced in Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand. They said.
One of the major initiatives taken by MoRTH this year was the announcement of a voluntary vehicle scrappage policy, which will eliminate unserviceable vehicles in a phased manner.
While work continued at high speed on various national highway projects and tunnels including the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, Bangalore-Chennai Expressway and Zojila Tunnel, the foundation stone was also laid for the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway and other projects. The Delhi-Dehradun Expressway, once operational, will significantly reduce the travel time between Dehradun and the national capital.
MoRTH is also working to create an integrated multi-modal national network of transport and logistics as part of the ‘PM Gatishakti-National Master Plan’.
This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed. Only the title has been changed.
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