According to an official source, the capital expenditure of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is likely to rise 25% year-on-year to Rs 3.2 trillion in the next financial year. This implies that the key infrastructure sector, which has long witnessed a famine of private venture capital and has lately been funded exclusively from the budget rather than loans, will continue to follow the same model to keep pace with investment in the next fiscal year. hold.

The expenditure will be finalized after taking into account increased funding requirements for ongoing programs like Bharatmala and newer programs being launched, the official said.

MoRTH's pre-budget meeting with the Finance Ministry on revised estimates for 2022-23 and budget estimates for 2024-25 has already been held, the source said.

The expected increase for 2024-2025 is similar to what was seen in the allocation for the current fiscal year, said the official who asked not to be identified. In 2023-2024, the ministry received Rp2.58 trillion for expenses, 25% more than the Rp2.05 trillion it spent in 2022-2023.

In the first seven months of this year, the ministry spent 1.66 trillion rupees (64% of its spending) on building 4,474 kilometers of roads. Highway construction typically begins in the second half of the fiscal year with most of the work completed by the end of the fourth quarter. The road construction target for this year is 13,800 kilometers, which could require additional resources for the year, based on revised estimates for that year.

Part of the increase expected for 2024-25 will cover the inflation portion of road construction activities, while the revised cost estimate of the flagship road construction programme, Bharatmala, awaits approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). ). The cost of Bharatmala has increased from Rs 5.35 trillion when it was first approved by the CCEA in October 2017.

Bharatmala is considering developing 34,800 kilometers of national highways. So far, works have been awarded for 26,348 kilometers of sections, which would cost 8.24 trillion rupees. Of the total target, 14,300 kilometers of roads have been constructed under the project.

As the award of road construction projects under Bharatmala is finalised, the government is examining the next project to be implemented. There is talk of Bharatmala 2, although some reports suggest that something more ambitious is also being explored.

The ministry, like other departments, has also drawn up a 25-year plan to commemorate the completion of 100 years of independence. Part of this program mentions a 20-year plan to build 50,000 kilometers of roads in the next 20 years at a cost of Rp 20 trillion.

Although 2024 is the election year and the government will present an interim budget, the expenditure budget will list detailed expenditures for the entire year under various headings. Along with the interim budget, the appropriation bill, which authorizes the government to withdraw money from the Consolidated Fund of India for expenditure, will be the appropriation bill (vote on account).