Full Budget funding for NHAI may continue for a decade

TO MAINTAIN TRANSPARENCY and sustainability, the Centre will likely continue to shoulder the massive capital expenditure requirements of the state-run infrastructure builder-the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)-for the next decade or so, until it becomes self-sufficient through adequate toll revenue generation.

- PRASANTA SAHU

Once the proposed highway network is completed across the country, maintenance activities will constitute the majority of the capital expenditure, significantly easing the financial burden on NHAI.

"At that point in time, the budget support would be discontinued as the highway builder would have enough resources of its own from toll revenues," an official said.

High debt forced the Centre to halt fresh borrowing by the highway maker NHAI in FY23, FY24 and FY25. As a result, its budgetary support rose to a whopping ₹1.74 trillion in FY23, over three times higher than ₹57,350 crore in FY22. The budget support was around ₹2 lakh crore in FY24 and is pegged at ₹1.68 lakh crore for FY25.