While the road sector is arguably in a sweet spot, land acquisition is unquestionably the biggest hurdle afflicting roads development.

The shares of IRB Infrastructure Developers have surged as much as 5.2 per cent to Rs 204 with a 5 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 2.5 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2018, against Rs 2.38 billion in the previous year’s quarter.

Sanjay Gupta is the youngest Chairman & Managing Director in the 28-year history of Konkan Railway Corporation (KRCL).

Stakeholders harp on the government's infrastructure push and expect construction orders of Rs.18 trillion in the next six years. This order inflow volume should support 12 to 15 per cent of industry-level execution of compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

The initiatives that will have a direct bearing on the pace of execution include awarding projects after securing 80 per cent right of way, expediting projects stuck midway, delegating the power to grant forest clearances to regional offices, filing online for clearances to construct road over bridges (ROBs) and road under bridges (RUBs) and increasing the limit on sand mining.

Sustained government thrust through policy changes, investments and proactive addressing of nagging issues, has placed the roads sector in what could be its best growth trajectory yet.

Policy actions to revive stalled projects, expedite approvals, introduce hybrid annuity and toll-operate-transfer (TOT) models in highways, and sustain rapid growth in renewable capacity augur well for the infrastructure financing landscape.

Effective policy measures by the Government over the last 36 months have revived the Indian road sector and supporting the execution pace. According to ICRA, these include steps like awarding projects after securing 80 per cent right of way; expediting projects stuck midway, delegating the power to grant forest clearances to regional offices, online filing for clearances to construct ROB and RUBs and increasing the limit on sand mining.

The NDA government has managed to save Rs 3 lakh crore worth bank loans to the road sector turning into NPAs, according to the minister of road transport and highways and shipping Nitin Gadkari.