National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) chairman Alka Upadhyay told media that NHAI will tender for several more highway projects with an additional 14,389 km by 2023-24 under Phase I of Rs 5.35 trillion Bharatmala Pariyojana.

On March 31, under the program developing economic corridors, highways, border roads, international links and coastal and port links, a project of 20,411 km was awarded, of which 8,134 km has already been completed.

Upadhyay said the development of freight corridors, national highways (NHs) and expressways would reduce logistics costs, which have been very high in India recently, about 12-13% of gross domestic product (GDP).

She added that Indian companies would be more competitive as the government emphasizes on providing last-mile connectivity through the development of national highways, state highways and rural roads under the vision of the PM Gatishakti program. These developments will provide better connectivity and make Indian businesses more competitive. NHAI has an asset base of approximately 1.4 lakh km of NHs.

She told media that NHAI made its first infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) last year, raising about Rs 8,000 crore through five projects covering about 400 km. The toll-operating transfer (TOT) model has raised about Rs 17,000 crore in recent years. NHAI plans to generate more revenue with InvIT and TOT.

NHAI created a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the Delhi-Mumbai highway development program, which received an AAA rating.

Under the Parvatmala programme, areas of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast would be linked by the development of cable cars to provide last minute connectivity. The work for the allocation of cable cars in Kedarnath and Hemkund has already started.