Rise in land cost may hit highway schemes

NEW DELHI: Highways ministry may have to cut down road construction target by 28% under its ambitious Bharatmala and NH development programme, if it does not get additional Rs 3.15 lakh crore funding till 2024-25, according to an official estimate.

Officials said the ministry requires additional funds primarily because of nearly three-fold increase in cost of land acquisition as compared to what the government had estimated in October 2017 when the Cabinet had approved the plan to develop 35,000 km of NHs with estimated investment of Rs 5.35 lakh crore. Moreover, there has been 30% increase in civil construction cost. These two factors have made highway projects almost 64% more expensive.