New Delhi: State-owned National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has said it plans to bid out 54 highway and expressways projects covering 2,442 km, with a total capital cost of Rs 1.80 lakh crore in the current financial year.
This is significantly lower than 124 projects spanning 6,376 km and with an estimated capital cost of Rs 3,45,466 crore that NHAI had identified for awarding in 2025-26.
According to an NHAI document, the identified highway projects are spread across Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana.
As per the tentative list, 26 projects will be awarded on engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode, 21 projects under the hybrid annuity model (HAM) and seven projects under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.
NHAI's share in total national highways construction in the country under the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) is between 45 per cent and 50 per cent.
Other players include the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL), the Border Road Organisation and the State Public Works Departments (PWD), which together constitute the remaining 50 per cent.
National Highway projects are executed on mainly in three modes -- Build Operate and Transfer (BOT), Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM), and Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC).
Concession period for projects including maintenance on Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) is 15 to 20 years and on Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) is generally 15 years. The concessionaire is responsible for maintenance of the respective highway stretches during the concession period of the project.
