Bharatmala (Highways)

Bharatmala Pariyojana is the Government of India's flagship national highway development programme, launched in 2017 to build approximately 83,677 km of new national highways under Phase 1, with a targeted investment of Rs 5.35 lakh crore. It consolidates and subsumes earlier highway programmes, NHDP (National Highway Development Project) phases I through VII, into a single unified umbrella. Projects are awarded by NHAI (National Highways Authority of India), MoRTH through the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL) for border-area roads, and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) for strategic roads. For road construction contractors and related material suppliers, Bharatmala is the largest single source of high-value tender opportunities in Indian infrastructure.

What is Bharatmala in government procurement?

Bharatmala tenders come in three primary contract types. EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) contracts are lump-sum design-and-build contracts awarded by NHAI, where the contractor takes full design and quantity risk in exchange for a fixed price. HAM (Hybrid Annuity Model) contracts involve the government paying 40% of the project cost in five construction-period milestone tranches, and then paying the remaining 60% as semi-annual annuity over 15 years after completion, the contractor finances the 60% during construction. BOT-Toll contracts (now less common than before 2015) assign traffic risk entirely to the concessionaire, who collects toll for 20-30 years.

Package sizes under Bharatmala are large by Indian standards: EPC packages typically range from Rs 200 crore to Rs 2,500 crore, and HAM packages from Rs 500 crore to Rs 5,000 crore. Eligibility criteria are correspondingly stringent, average annual turnover of 30-100% of estimated project cost (typically for the last three financial years), one similar completed work of road/highway construction (EPC or item rate) of at least 30-80% of the package value in the past 10 years, and a net worth requirement. JV formation is common for large packages where a single firm cannot independently meet all eligibility criteria.

Procurement follows NHAI's Standard Bidding Documents (SBDs), which are detailed, MCA (Model Concession Agreement)-aligned documents for HAM and BOT, and Technical-Financial two-cover documents for EPC. The technical bid is pass/fail on eligibility; the financial bid for EPC is the lump-sum price (contractor winning as L1), while for HAM it is the bid project cost (BPC) on which the annuity and construction grants are calculated, the lowest BPC wins.

Why it matters for bidders

Bharatmala is the aspirational endpoint for most serious road construction companies in India. Winning even one NHAI package builds the experience credentials that unlock access to larger packages and to international infrastructure projects. However, the programme demands significant financial capacity, NHAI EPC packages often require the contractor to manage working capital of Rs 100-500 crore simultaneously, since payment comes in RA bills that can be delayed by site-level measurement disputes.

DPR quality is a known challenge in Bharatmala. Some EPC packages have been awarded with inadequate ground investigation, leading to design changes during execution that trigger variation order disputes. Contractors must do thorough due diligence on the project DPR, geological survey data, and land acquisition status before committing to bid.

Tracking Bharatmala tenders requires monitoring NHAI's e-procurement portal (tender.nhai.org) and NHIDCL's portal separately, in addition to CPPP.

Example

NHAI floats an EPC tender for four-laning of a 42 km stretch of national highway in a southern state, with an estimated project cost of Rs 1,850 crore. The NIT requires bidder (or lead member of JV) to have average annual turnover of at least Rs 550 crore over the last three financial years and a completed similar EPC work of at least Rs 740 crore in the past 10 years. Net worth must be positive. Three firms meet the eligibility criteria. After technical evaluation, their financial bids are opened: the L1 firm quotes Rs 1,810 crore, which is within the acceptable range of the engineer's estimate. NHAI's competent authority approves the award, and the Letter of Award is issued.

Key rules / thresholds

• EPC: lump-sum price, contractor bears design and quantity risk, L1 wins.
• HAM: lowest Bid Project Cost (BPC) wins; government pays 40% in construction milestones, 60% as 30 semi-annual annuities.
• BOT-Toll: lowest grant (or highest premium) wins; tolls collected by concessionaire for 20-30 years.
• All NHAI packages above Rs 500 crore require Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approval before award.
• MCA (Model Concession Agreement) governs HAM and BOT contracts, risk allocation is standardised across all packages.