Covid-19 impact: Bharatmala may be delayed by four years, says ICRA

Depending on how quickly normalcy is restored, these plans could take off by end of FY2021. Therefore, 2020 is likely to be another year of muted awards

Covid-19 may claim another casualty, this time the Union government’s ambitious Bharatmala scheme, which may get delayed by about four years in the aftermath of the pandemic, said ratings agency ICRA.

Bharatmala Pariyojana that was scheduled for completion in 2021-22 is now likely to get completed by 2025-26, ICRA said on Wednesday.

Till February 2020, a total of 246 road projects with an aggregate length of about 10,100 km were awarded under BMP Phase-I at a total cost of Rs 2.38 trillion.