Delegating power to National Highways Authority of India Board to sanction projects in engineering procurement contract (EPC) mode – where government fully funds the project — has helped NHAI achieve an all time high project award of 7,400 km in fiscal 2017-18, according to a release. Over half of the projects were awarded on EPC mode. The projects are valued at ₹ 1,22,000 crore. In last five years, the average length of road projects awarded by NHAI was 2,860 km with 4,335 km awarded in the last financial year.

Of the total projects awarded, 3,791 km length was awarded on EPC mode at a cost of ₹ 43,000 crore; 3,396 km. was awarded on Hybrid Annuity mode at a cost of ₹ 76,500 crore and 209 km on toll mode at a cost of ₹ 2,500 crore.

Tendering and awarding projects picked up after the sanction of ambitious Bharatmala programme and subsequent new procedure for sanction being put in place in November 2017. Under the new protocol, the NHAI board was delegated full powers for sanctioning EPC projects. Following that high powered projects appraisal committee and cost committee were put in place in NHAI.

During this drive, post Bharatmala, 232 projects were put on tenders involving around 11,200 km of road length costing more than ₹1,96,000 crore.

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