JOIN US3,951 km highways constructed from April to September: Centre
The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on Friday said that despite Covid-19 pandemic challenges, 3,951 km of highways were constructed in the first six months of the current fiscal year.
The Ministry also said that they have achieved a road-building rate of 21.60 km per day.
"The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has successfully completed construction of road length of 3,951 km during the first six months of this fiscal year (April-September). It has achieved a construction pace of 21.60 km per day despite Covid-19 difficulties," the ministry said in a statement.
It has set an ambitious target of constructing an 11,000 km of the road during this fiscal year.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) earlier this week said that it awarded projects for building 1,330 km of highways in April-September, up 60 % from the year-ago period despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The projects awarded by NHAI were valued at Rs 47,289 crore.
Recently, NHAI agreed to implement various suggestions made by different industry bodies towards improving national highways.
In March 2020, NHAI disbursed Rs 10,000 crore through online payments and ensured that no payments remain pending due to the closure of the office during the lockdown.
In the first quarter of 2020-21, NHAI disbursed more than Rs 15,000 crore to the vendors, it said adding that additionally, steps such as monthly payment to the contractors were taken to ensure cash flow to them.