India targets 7300 km of road contracts this year

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has set a target to award construction contracts for 7300 km of roads in the April 2011 - 2012 financial year. It says it will put some 10000 km out to tender to help ensure the award target is met.

Last year the NHAI awarded a record 5083 km of work, so this target represents a +44% increase in activity.

The NHAI has also produced more detailed monthly targets of what it hopes to achieves, and these detail some 59 individual schemes, with a total length of 7994 km and a total value of INR 56939 crores (US$ 12.7 billion). According to these monthly targets, the busiest period for awards will be the summer months, with the July to November period expected to see 41 schemes awarded, totalling 5832 km and worth some INR 34754 crore (US$ 7.76 billion).

The NHAI is also looking towards the private sector to fund these schemes by way of concession agreements. It says about 75% of the work it expects to award in the current financial year is suitable for build-operate-transfer (BOT) agreements. The remaining 2000 km is either viewed as not financially viable for BOT, or is the responsibility of state governments.