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The pace of award for new-projects in roads sector is expected to remain subdued, as the budget FY26 estimates (BE FY26) for capital expenditure remained flat at ₹2.72 lakh crore, the proposal in Union Budget FY26 document showed on Friday.
Accordingly, the capital expenditure for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) remained flat when compared to the revised estimate (RE FY25) and the BE FY25.
The allocation assumes significance since it is utilised for construction of new roads and highways among other development activities. Centre is expected to construct 10,000 km of national highways in FY26.
On an overall basis, MoRTH’s budgetary allocation was raised to ₹287,333 crore in BE FY26 from ₹286,519 crore in RE FY25 and ₹284,000 crore in BE FY25. The allocation includes provisions for central sector schemes or projects, establishment expenditures of the Centre, and other central sector expenditures.
In terms of budget support, the NHAI has been allocated ₹187,803 crore in BE FY26 from ₹169,371 crore in RE FY25 and ₹168,464 crore in BE FY25.
Budgetary proposal
Commenting on the budgetary proposal, Anand Kulkarni, Director, Crisil Ratings expects the Centre to focus on asset monetisation along with increasing the share of BOT-Toll projects to boost Capex (capital expenditure) in the sector.
“First, monetisation of assets with the expected launch of the second phase of the National Monetisation Pipeline with plans to monetise ₹10 lakh crore of projects during 2025-30, a sizeable portion of which is expected to be in roads,” Kulkarni said.
“The capital unlocked from the monetisation can be used for new projects. Second, the focus on increasing the share of BOT-toll projects, which will reduce dependence on government funding.”
According to Suprio Banerjee, Vice President & Co-Group Head, ICRA pointed out that in line with the earlier budget announcements, the government continued with nil borrowing programme for NHAI.
“The monetisation target remains similar at ₹30,000 crore for FY2026 compared to that of FY2025,” Banerjee said.
“The allocation towards ‘Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana’ (PMGSY) scheme increased by a healthy of 31 per cent to ₹19,000 crore in FY2026 BE from ₹14,500 crore in FY2025 RE, which is expected to support the order book of small construction contractors.”
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