NHAI's ₹3.4 Lakh Crore Highway Push: A New Era for Infrastructure

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) plans to invite bids for 124 highway and expressway projects worth ₹3.4 lakh crore during the current financial year, aiming to regain momentum after a noticeable slowdown in project awards over the past two years.

In a move to enhance transparency and give developers more preparation time, NHAI has publicly released the complete list of upcoming projects. The deceleration in awards followed the conclusion of the Bharatmala programme, with project lengths dropping from 6,003 km in FY23 to 3,339 km in FY24, and seeing only a marginal uptick to 4,008 km in FY25. A key factor behind the slowdown was the policy shift requiring at least 90% land acquisition before bid invitations.

In FY26, 78% of the planned projects will be awarded under the public-private partnership (PPP) model. Notable among these are the 476 km Gorakhpur–Kishanganj–Siliguri corridor (₹35,000 crore), the 282 km Patna–Purnea highway (₹17,076 crore), and the 374 km Nashik–Ahmednagar corridor (₹19,000+ crore).

The remaining projects will follow government-funded models, as part of a broader effort to restore developer confidence and accelerate national infrastructure development.

News by Rahul Yelligetti.