New Delhi: India is expected to increase its high-speed road network infrastructue fivefold within a decade time frame, investing Rs 11 lakh crore ($125
billion) to modernize road infrastructure and slash logistics costs, people familiar with the matter said as reported by Bloomberg.
The country is set to add 17000 kilometers (10563 miles) of access-controlled roads that will allow the automobiles to travel at speeds of upto 120 kilometers per hour, thereby offering faster and more efficient connectivity than conventional highways, said the people who wished to remain anonymous said the Bloomberg report further
The tentative proposed network is already 40 percent under construction and slated for completion before the timeline of 2030, whereas the work for the remaining corridors is expected to begin by 2028 and and is estimated to complete by 2023, said people familiar with the matter.
Infra projects that are promising returns more than 15 percent will be tendered under the build operate transfer (BOT) model, allowing private players to manage their cost through toll collection as per the people who are familiar with the matter. Projects with lower projected returns will be executed through the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM), where the government provides 40% of construction funding upfront.
Currently, the majority of projects under construction fall within the hybrid annuity framework, but authorities are now looking to encourage greater private sector involvement in upcoming projects, the people said. Interest from private firms in India’s road sector has been relatively muted in recent years.
The govt has undertaken a massive upgrade of the national highway framework through the National Highways Authority of India(NHAI). In the fiscal year ended March, NHAI’s expenditure was about record Rs 2.5 lakh criore on road construction, recording a surge of 21 percent from the previous year. For FY26, the budgetary allocation for road infra is of Rs 2.9 lakh crore.
Global investors have already shown interest in India’s infrastructure push. Brookfield Asset Management, Blackstone, Macquarie Group, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board have all committed capital, while the Adani Group has unveiled plans to invest $18.4 billion across infrastructure segments, including roads.
As per Deloitte India, the country is expected to attract billions of investment in road infrastructure over the next three years. The sustained investment is due to the support from government policies, rising demand, and the vast pipeline of planned project.
