lack of participation by private road developers, financially strained markets and slow pace of mandatory environmental clearances have taken a huge toll on road construction in the country.
Statistics with the Ministry of Roads, Transport and Highways (MoRTH) show that the daily average of road construction across the country slipped to a meager nine km/per day, which is less than 50 per cent of the target set by the UPA for the fiscal year 2013-14.It is the second consecutive year, when the road development sector has performed miserably.The final figure of highway construction stood at less than 3,900 km with NHAI bearing almost 50 per cent of the construction burden. last year, the construction total stood at 5,732 km.
Road construction progressed well in 2008-09, and then in the corresponding year but has been slipping ever since.According to Road Ministry officials, achieving 20 km target could have been possible if the market situation supported the sector. “Of the several projects awarded after 2009-10, close to 24 road projects have remained stuck,” said an official.“It takes about 2-3 years between award and completion of a highway stretch and for the last couple of years financial situation has been tight. lending to road sector has been very poor and bidding from private players has been very scarce,” he said.
According to the officials, the sector is unlikely to see a turnaround in the next two years. “The road sector is most likely to perform dismally even in the current financial year. Very few projects have been awarded during 2013-14 and there is no certainty whether the stuck-up projects will take off in the near future as the markets are not very promising,” said the Road Ministry official.
As face saving measures, the UPA Government came out with some partial relief for about 36 projects where private developers had bid aggressively and had promised upfront revenue but were unable to pay within the stipulated time frame.The Finance Ministry as well as the Planning Commission had raised issues pertaining to the sustainability of the relief measures, but succumbing to pressures from both the Road Ministry and National Highways Authority of India who are desperate for a turn around of the sector agreed to some interventions.
last year, the Ministry of Roads could barely award only 3,170 km during 2013-14.