The daily pace of construction of highways has taken a hit in FY20. The year may end with a figure of around 26 km per day, a considerable dip from FY19’s record — 29 km per day.
As per data provided by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, 8,784 km of highway length was constructed between April 2019 and February 2020. According to sources , till March 15, this number could have gone up to 9,300 km, which roughly translates into 26.64 km per day. FY20’s performance may be close to FY18’s pace of 26.93 km a day.
Losing Steam
Year Length in Km Pace (Km/Day)
2014-15 4,410 12.08
2015-16 6,061 16.56
2016-17 8,231 22.55
2017-18 9,829 26.93
2018-19 10,855 29.74
2019-20 8784* 25.23
*Till Feb ’20
Source: Ministry of Road Transport & Highways
At the current pace, construction in FY20 may touch around 9,720 km, which is far short of the ministry’s target of 11,000 km. “Target for construction of 11,000 km of National Highway has been set for the current financial year,” Nitin Gadkari informed the Parliament on Monday.