NHAI awards likely to accelerate in Q4 of 2025-26

October 13, 2025

According to JM Financial, NHAI has demonstrated its intent to increase the pace of national highway awards. This will be reflected in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025-26. NHAI has released a list of 124 projects totalling 6,396 km to be awarded in 2025-26. The estimated engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) cost of these projects is almost Rs 2 trillion, while the total capital cost is approximately Rs 3.45 trillion. With a 72 per cent value share, hybrid annuity model (HAM) projects dominate the pipeline. Build-operate-transfer projects account for 18 per cent, followed by EPC projects with a 10 per cent share. As of August 2025, the highway bid pipeline stood at Rs 683 billion. However, with NHAI expediting awards, it is expected to see significant improvement in the Q4 of 2025-26.