Bharatmala Project cost doubles; only 23% project completed so far: Report

With land acquisition still being a pain area, the ambitious Bharatmala Project is expected to be completed in FY28 after a six-year delay only if the current pace of execution is maintained, as per a report.

While the project has already overshot the completion target of FY22, the cost has already risen by a full 99 per cent to Rs 10.63 lakh crore and is likely to rise by another 15-20 per cent, given the massive spike in input cost and land prices, rating agency Icra said in the report.

During the past seven years, only around 60 per cent or 20,632 km of the 34,800 km of highways have been awarded (till December 2021), while 23 per cent of the project is completed by March 2022, the agency added.