Highway project awards in India are set to gain momentum in the fourth quarter of FY26, with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) signalling a strong push to accelerate the pace of infrastructure development.

According to a report by JM Financial, the authority has lined up 124 projects spanning 6,396 km for award in FY26, with an estimated capital cost of ₹3.45 trillion. The planned pipeline, dominated by Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) projects, comes at a time when NHAI’s financial health has improved considerably, giving it greater headroom to expand highway awards and execution in the medium term.

It stated “NH awards to pick up pace in 4Q with NHAI showing clear intent” In terms of structure, the report mentioned that Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) projects dominate the pipeline with a 72 per cent value share. This is followed by BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) projects with an 18 per cent share and EPC projects with a 10 per cent share.

The report also noted that with a higher tilt towards HAM projects, highway developers with strong balance sheets stand to benefit the most. The report highlighted NHAI’s improving financial health.

The authority has reduced its gross debt from Rs 3.35 trillion in March 2024 (which had peaked at INR 3.5 trillion in March 2022) to Rs 2.45 trillion by March 2025. At the same time, the gross debt-to-toll ratio has come down sharply to 6.1x in March 2025, compared to a peak of 27.5x in March 2022. This ratio is now even below the 7x recorded in March 2016.

The report outlined that this gives NHAI significant room to award more highway projects in both HAM and EPC modes over the medium term.

As of August 2025, the highways bid pipeline is moderate at Rs 683 billion. However, it is expected to improve materially in the fourth quarter of FY26 as NHAI accelerates awards.

Cumulatively, till March 2025, NHAI has raised close to INR 1.4 trillion through different monetisation models. For FY26E, NHAI has set a monetisation target of INR 300 billion.

The report mentioned that these steps reflect NHAI’s strong intent to step up project awards and strengthen the national highway development programme in the coming quarters.