Orders have been issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways that on passing the requisite quality tests; all types of steel can be used for National Highways for increasing the supplier base for steel used for construction and potentially lowering the input cost of raw materials in the backdrop of increasing steel prices.

The steel to be used would be tested in NABL (National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories) accredited laboratories as a third-party check before approval. The move is based on the technical analysis and discussions with the stakeholders. Due to this, the supplier base for steel used in the construction of national highways would increase, leading to more competition and better price discovery. Approx. 250-300 kg of steel is used in building one km of the national highway, and the amount can increase if the highways have more structures while being built. Earlier, the contract provisions required only the use of steel produced by the primary steel producers.

Given the increase in steel prices, which could impact the cost of building national highways, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari has suggested the need to reexamine all conditions that could be restrictive. He had already raised the issue earlier in several forums after several steel user sectors approached him on this matter. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is investigating whether the steel companies colluded with each other to increase the price of the commodity.