Highway & Tunnel Infrastructure

NATIONAL COUNCIL ON HIGHWAYS & TUNNELINGThe ASSOCHAM National Council on Highways & Tunneling is a leading Industry Policy Forum representing developers, contractors, consultants, technology providers, equipment manufacturers, and other stakeholders across India's highways and tunnel infrastructure sector.

For over a decade, the Council has driven public policy and regulatory reforms to improve safety, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and timely project delivery. It serves as a trusted platform for collaboration between industry and key government agencies, including the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO). The Council addresses critical issues such as geotechnical risk allocation, changes in rock classification and associated risk allocation, mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) and tunnel ventilation systems, land acquisition and Right of Way (RoW) readiness, dispute resolution, contractual ambiguities, valuation of change of scope, and the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) and Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) frameworks.

The Council's policy recommendations have delivered significant national impact. Notably, its inputs on the Zojila Tunnel Project contributed to a revised tendering framework that reduced the project cost from nearly ₹11,000 crore to approximately ₹6,000 crore, resulting in estimated savings of ₹5,000 crore. These contributions have been publicly acknowledged by the Hon'ble Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari, including on the floor of the Lok Sabha. More recently, the Council's recommendations on highway construction practices and tunnel MEP standards have been accepted in principle by the Government.

The Council also annually recognises outstanding achievers from both the public and private sectors for their exceptional contributions to highways and tunnel infrastructure development. Through policy advocacy, stakeholder engagement, knowledge-sharing initiatives, and industry–government collaboration, the Council continues to support infrastructure development, technology adoption, Ease of Doing Business, and the creation of a safe, resilient, and globally competitive transportation ecosystem.

PRIORITY AREAS

• Resilient Infrastructure & Safety: Advancing climate-resilient, safe, and sustainable highways and tunnels through stronger engineering standards and risk management.
• Policy & Regulatory Reforms: Promoting transparent, efficient, and industry-friendly reforms in procurement, contracts, DPRs, governance, and dispute resolution.
• Technology & Innovation: Encouraging adoption of advanced tunnelling technologies, BIM, AI-driven project management, and digital engineering for faster, safer, and more