NHAI sets Guinness World Records in highway construction

In News : NHAI sets Guinness World Records in highway construction

Analysis

• The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has set two Guinness World Records for laying bituminous concrete on the Vanavolu–Vankarakunta section of the Bengaluru–Kadapa–Vijayawada Economic Corridor.
• Records achieved:
  • Longest continuous bituminous concrete laying: ~29 lane-kilometres within 24 hours.
  • Highest quantity laid: Over 10,000 metric tonnes of bituminous concrete within 24 hours.
• The corridor is 343 km long and is designed to enhance inter-State connectivity between Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
• Expected impacts include:
  • Faster and safer mobility.
  • Support to trade, tourism, and regional economic growth.
• NHAI highlighted that the achievement reflects India’s growing capacity for world-class highway infrastructure development.
• Two additional Guinness World Record attempts are underway on the Vanavolu–Vankarakunta–Odulapalle section of NH-544G.
• The achievement was acknowledged by the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister as aligned with the Government of India’s focus on high-quality infrastructure under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

Necessary Static Part: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and Highway Development Framework

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)

• Established by an Act of Parliament: National Highways Authority of India Act, 1988.
• Mandated to develop, maintain, and manage National Highways and matters incidental thereto.
• Entrusted with the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) along with other projects.
• Manages about 50,329 km of National Highways for development, maintenance, and management.
• Operates under the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).
• Objectives include:
  • Transparency in procurement and contract awards.
  • Adoption of competitive bidding practices.
  • High-quality project execution.
  • Ensuring user comfort, safety, and convenience.

National Highways in India

• Act as arterial roads for inter-State movement of passengers and goods.
• Connect national and State capitals, ports, rail junctions, border roads, and international highways.
• Total length (including expressways): 1,32,499 km.
• Constitute about 1.7–2% of total road length, yet carry nearly 40% of total road traffic.

National Highways Development Project (NHDP)

• India’s largest highway development programme, implemented in phases.
• Launched to address rapid growth in passenger and freight traffic.

Major Phases

• Phase I (2000):
  • Four-laning of 6,359 km; cost ₹30,300 crore.
• Phase II (2003):
  • Four-laning of 6,702 km; cost ₹34,339 crore.
  • Includes Golden Quadrilateral (5,846 km) and North–South & East–West Corridors (7,300 km).
• Phase III (2007):
  • Upgradation of 12,109 km; cost ₹80,626 crore.
• Phase IV (2008):
  • Upgradation of 20,000 km to 2/4 lanes with paved shoulders.
• Phase V (2006):
  • Six-laning of 6,500 km; cost ₹41,210 crore.
• Phase VI (2006):
  • Construction of 1,000 km of access-controlled expressways; cost ₹16,680 crore.
• Phase VII (2007):
  • Ring roads, bypasses, flyovers, tunnels, and grade separators; cost ₹16,680 crore.

Bharatmala Pariyojana

• Launched in 2017, India’s largest highway infrastructure programme.
• Target: 34,800 km of National Highway corridors, covering 580+ districts.
• Shift from project-based to corridor-based development approach.
• Based on scientific planning:
  • Origin–Destination freight studies across 600 districts.
  • Optimised alignments to reduce travel time.
• Focus Areas:
  • Economic Corridors
  • Inter-corridors and feeder routes
  • Border and international connectivity
  • Coastal and port connectivity
  • Expressways
• Total estimated cost: ₹5.35 lakh crore.

Greenfield Access-Controlled Corridors

• Development of 25 greenfield expressways and access-controlled corridors.
• Length: Over 9,100 km.
• Estimated investment: ₹3.84 lakh crore.
• Key corridors include Delhi–Mumbai Expressway and Amritsar–Bhatinda–Jamnagar Corridor.

Green Highways Policy, 2015

• Notified by MoRTH on 29 September 2015.
• Aims to develop eco-friendly National Highways.
• Promotes:
  • Plantations, transplantations, and beautification.
  • Community participation involving farmers, NGOs, private sector, and forest departments.
• Envisions development of green corridors along existing and upcoming National Highways within available Right of Way (ROW).

Updated – 07 January 2026 ; 04:11 PM IST |News Source:News on Air

Additional Reference:

NHAI – Road Safety Overview
https://nhai.gov.in/#/about-road-safety