Highway building gathers pace in Q1

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

During the quarter, 2,150 kilometres of highways were built, but new projects for only 600 km were awarded, said officials. India had constructed 1,966 km and awarded 969 km of highways in the corresponding months a year ago. “Highway construction for the first quarter of the fiscal is higher than the average of the last four years, which stood at 2,057 km,” a senior official told ET on condition of anonymity. Highways would have been constructed at a faster pace but for the irregular rains, said officials. Sector watchers said the upcoming state assembly elections in December could also cause some delays once the model code of conduct for the polls kicks in.

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According to highway contractors, delayed payments also impacted activity. Highway builders also claim they are not getting due bonuses for timely completion of projects and that there is a shortage of field officers to grant speedy approvals for work that has been done. “There is lower discretion in the construction framework, and the priority is only cost. So, of late, contractors have not been satisfied with the payment redress mechanism, which is bent in favour of the government,” an industry executive told ET, adding that absence of senior bureaucrats in key positions of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is also a concern. The government has moved to engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), and Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) projects for building roads.