The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has exceeded its highway construction target for the fiscal year 2024-25 by 9%, completing 5,614 kilometers of roads. This achievement, however, falls short of the 6,644 kilometers constructed in the previous fiscal year. The slowdown is attributed to prolonged election processes and the enforcement of the model code of conduct, which delayed necessary clearances.
Despite this accomplishment, NHAI did not meet its monetization target of ₹39,000 crore, securing only ₹28,724 crore. This shortfall is primarily due to directives from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to pause monetization through the Toll Operate Transfer (ToT) model pending a comprehensive review.
In the 2024-25 fiscal year, NHAI raised ₹17,738 crore through the National Highways Infrastructure Trust (NHIT), marking its highest-ever collection. An additional ₹6,661 crore was garnered from a single ToT bundle, and ₹4,325 crore was obtained via project-based financing, particularly for segments of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway.
The authority’s capital expenditure reached an unprecedented ₹2.5 lakh crore, surpassing the targeted ₹2.4 lakh crore. Looking ahead, the government aims to construct 10,000 kilometers of roads in the upcoming fiscal year, with a monetization goal of ₹30,000 crore, accounting for 10% of total budgetary resources.
