CT Logo

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has stated that focus on healthcare and disaster management does not mean highway building programmes would be impacted.

According to him, highways are a lifeline of communication and connectivity in most parts of India and disaster management requires good infrastructure and connectivity so both are important.

In a bid to continue the momentum of highway development in the country, Gadkari said that his current priority is to resume construction works at various sites as soon as the Coronavirus-triggered lockdown is lifted.

Even as the lockdown continues, steps are being taken to restart works at certain stretches while following social-distancing norms and other health and hygiene measures.

Moreover, the Road Transport and Highways Ministry (MoRTH) has been busy preparing bids for various national highway (NH) projects. Gadkari exuded hopes that the government would not miss its target of awarding new highway projects in FY20-21.

Besides clearing the bills of developers and contractors, the Road Transport Ministry is also ensuring that banks and financial institutions continue to provide credit to the highways sector.

With Gadkari at the helm, the highways sector has seen a steady rise in road building across the country. The NHAI constructed 3,979 km of national highways in FY20, its highest in any financial year so far.

However, the sector may face some challenges in coming quarters as Coronavirus has brought economic activities to a complete halt and threatens to derail growth in many sectors. Given that the government has hundreds of road projects in pipeline, any disruption in construction or fund crunch could play spoilsport.

The MoRTH has approved building of 34,800 km of national highways in 5 years with an estimated cost of Rs 5.35 lakh crore under Phase-I of Bharatmala Pariyojana. Out of this, the NHAI has been mandated to build 27,500 km.