 "Highways: UP's path to become first $1 trn state")
The construction of highways by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) increased by 9 per cent to 5,614 kilometres (km) in the financial year 2024-25 (FY25), the NHAI said on Wednesday.
This is despite a slowdown in construction activity due to the Lok Sabha elections in 2024 and a slowdown in awards that has been ongoing for the last two years.
“In addition, the capital expenditure by NHAI in the financial year 2024-25 for development of national highway infrastructure reached an all-time high of over ₹2.5 trillion (provisional) against a target expenditure of ₹2.4 trillion. This highest ever capital expenditure in a financial year by NHAI includes both government budgetary support and NHAI’s own resources,” it said in a statement.
The increase in capital expenditure for the NHAI was 21 per cent over the previous financial year at ₹2.07 trillion and around 45 per cent higher than that in 2022-23.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has been responsible for around a fourth of the cumulative capital expenditure by the Centre, and experts have previously raised concerns about capex decline due to the slowdown in awards since 2023.
It is also responsible for 35 per cent of the ₹10 trillion monetisation target going forward till 2030, and was among the highest monetisation proceeds raised by ministries in the first national monetisation pipeline.
“During FY25, NHAI leveraged three modes for monetisation, that included toll operate transfer (TOT), infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) and toll securitisation. During the financial year, NHAI monetised assets for a total of ₹28,724 crore. This includes NHAI’s highest-ever single round InvIT receipt worth ₹17,738 crore,” it said.
