Centre lowers road target, need for speed new priority

Highway construction target at 10,000km for FY26 against 12,000km in FY25

- Subhash Narayan

NEW DELHI: India plans to more than double the length of high-speed roads in the coming fiscal and target less of two- and four-lane highways, as the focus shifts to offering faster connectivity between key economic centres across the country.

The Centre plans to complete 3,300km of access-controlled highways in 2025-26 financial year, according to the annual report of ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH).

The cumulative length of such operational corridors, which regulate traffic entering or leaving the highways to offer high-speed driving, is expected to reach 5,800km, up from 2,474km constructed over the last few years until December 2024. However, the country's overall highway construction is expected to slip further to 10,000km in FY26 from 12,000km targeted in each of the two previous years.