National highways to be increased by 25,000 km in FY23, FM Nirmala; infra, cement, realty stocks surge

1 Feb 2022 , 11:45 AM

Shares of infra, realty, and cement companies rose sharply after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in the Union Budget 2022-23 announcement on Tuesday that the network of national highways in the country will grow by 25,000 km in 2022-23.

Reacting to this announcement, shares of IRB Infra, Ashoka Buildcon were trading over 3% while Dilip Buildcon was also nearly 3% higher. Realty Stocks were 1% higher led by Oberoi Realty and Brigade. Cement companies like Ultratech Cement and Ambuja Cement were also 1% higher.

President Ram Nath Kovind said this during his speech while addressing a joint session of Parliament on the first day of Budget on Monday said that India’s longest expressway linking Delhi to Mumbai to be completed soon.

Earlier, Nitin Gadkari had revealed that his ministry aims to increase the national highway network further.

On Sunday, he said, “Government is working towards the development of a national highway network of 2 lakh kilometres by 2025. We are developing 22 greenfield access control expressways to reduce travel time.”

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which is the agency responsible for construction and maintenance of national highways in India, has been able to increase construction even during the lockdown phases of Covid-19 since March 2020.