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They say the development of any country can be measured by the development of its road sector. As we look past the achievements of our country, one of the most significant factors that contribute to the growth of the country are the roads or network of roads within the country, so as to say they are directly dependent on one another.
This paper reviews the impact of the Golden Quadrilateral project on the overall development of the country as well as the expectations from the Bharatmala project.
The Golden Quadrilateral gave the NHAI the first enormous project for construction of more than 5800 kms of world class roads that the country lacked but deserved. The GQ was very significant project that changed the way that things worked in the development of roads in the sector i.e. from acquisition of land, site preparedness, inter-agency co-ordination etc. Made with the intention of promoting better movement of people & products the project also facilitated improved business activity, reduced inventory and operation cost and the most of all emergence of NHAI as the Nodal Agency for development of roads in India.
The GQ project also faced shortcomings, however the learnings drawn from the project and the expectations from the Bharatmala project are all brought out in detail in this review paper.