Government Falls Short of FY26 Highway Construction Milestone Amid Land Acquisition Delays

National Highway Construction Falls Short of Target in Last Fiscal Year

National highway construction in the last fiscal year totaled 9,380 km, falling short of the target of 10,000 km, according to a senior road transport and highways ministry official. This development marks the shortest length of highway construction since 2017-18, when 9,829 km of highways were built.

The official attributed the shortfall primarily to delays in land acquisition and securing other necessary clearances. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, responsible for the development and maintenance of National Highways (NHs), including National Expressways, has faced significant challenges in meeting its construction targets.

A closer look at the ministry's performance over the past few years reveals a downward trend. While the ministry constructed 10,660 km of national highways in 2024-25, it built 12,349 km in 2023-24 and 10,331 km in 2022-23. This slowdown is largely due to a sharp fall in the pace of awarding new highway projects.

Read also: Google to Commit $10 Billion to Anthropic, with Additional $30 Billion Allocated for AI-Related Objectives

The pace of awarding highway contracts has significantly decreased, falling from 12,376 km in 2022-23 to 7,538 km in the last fiscal year. This decline has contributed to the slowdown in national highway construction and highlights the need for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to address the challenges hindering the development of India's national highway network.