Govt misses FY26 highway construction target due to delay in land acquisition

National highway construction in the last fiscal year stood at 9,380 km, below the target of 10,000 km, a senior road transport and highways ministry official said on Friday. The official told PTI that the shortfall was mainly due to delays in land acquisition and securing other clearances.

Last fiscal year saw the shortest length of highway construction since 2017-18, when 9,829 km of highways were built.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is primarily responsible for the development and maintenance of National Highways (NHs), including National Expressways.

The ministry constructed 10,660 km of national highways in 2024-25, 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. The pace of awarding highway contracts fell from 12,376 km in 2022-23 to 7,538 km in FY25.