Chief among many complaints heard from corporate India about doing business in the country is the poor state of physical infrastructure. Roads are the most visible part of the deficit. During the first term of UPA(2004 to 2009), the country failed to achieve the stated goal of building 10 Kms of highways a day.
In the last three years , things seem to be taking a turn for the better. After being reelected in 2009, UPA-2 set itself a target of building 20 kms of roads a day. For that to happen, at least 7500 Kms of construction contracts need to be awarded every year. Judging by the trends of awards in the last three years(chart below), that ambition seems to be turning to reality.
With parliamentary elections due in another two years, nobody knows if the momentum will be sustained in the long run. Politics aside, there are signs of enthusiastic participation by private players in the highway construction sector.
If only the government can get other sectors of infrastructure(power, freight rail, ports) to start seeing similar levels of growth. It would go a long way towards easing the supply bottlenecks that play such a key role in keeping inflation persistently high.
In the last three years , things seem to be taking a turn for the better. After being reelected in 2009, UPA-2 set itself a target of building 20 kms of roads a day. For that to happen, at least 7500 Kms of construction contracts need to be awarded every year. Judging by the trends of awards in the last three years(chart below), that ambition seems to be turning to reality.
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| Date Source: Economictimes and infrawindow |
With parliamentary elections due in another two years, nobody knows if the momentum will be sustained in the long run. Politics aside, there are signs of enthusiastic participation by private players in the highway construction sector.
If only the government can get other sectors of infrastructure(power, freight rail, ports) to start seeing similar levels of growth. It would go a long way towards easing the supply bottlenecks that play such a key role in keeping inflation persistently high.
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