MoRTH mandates precast concrete for faster, greener highway construction

MoRTH introduces a new policy requiring precast concrete use in highway projects, aiming to boost speed, quality, and environmental compliance.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has mandated the use of precast concrete components for non-critical elements in all new national highways and highway projects with a civil work cost exceeding ₹300 crore. This rule will apply to tenders submitted 90 days after the ministry issued its circular.

The ministry intends to expedite project execution, shorten on-site construction time, and limit environmental consequences, particularly in urban and densely populated areas. Precast construction, which involves casting concrete elements in controlled surroundings and then assembling them on-site, has been shown to improve build quality, reduce dust and noise levels, and allow for year-round work in bad weather conditions.

Stormwater drains, box culverts, boundary walls, toe walls, RCC crash barriers, kerbs, channels, walkways, and pedestrian or median railings are all now required to be precast under the revised requirements. These components must meet standards defined by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) or the Indian Roads Congress (IRC). Contractors can choose whether to cast components in factories or on-site, as long as quality is maintained.

The ministry has set minimum specifications for factory-made precast goods, which include steam curing, mechanical handling equipment, enough storage space, and NABL-accredited quality control laboratories. However, on-site precasting is excluded from these factory certification norms, allowing for greater project flexibility while maintaining quality.

This directive expands on an earlier MoRTH guideline released in April 2023, which mandated a minimum of 25 percent precast concrete use in highway projects (excluding foundations and substructures), especially when locations were within 100 km of an active precast factory. In partnership with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the ministry is now looking into boosting this requirement to 75-80 percent, indicating a broader policy trend towards modular and industrialised construction processes.

In addition to speeding up project delivery, this transition is likely to benefit micro, small, and medium-sized firms (MSMEs) that manufacture precast elements, improving local economies and supply chains.

With this project, MoRTH reaffirms its commitment to smarter, cleaner, and more efficient road infrastructure, which is consistent with broader national goals of sustainable development and carbon footprint reduction.

For more details, visit: https://morth.nic.in/