Karnataka’s cabinet approved Rs 20,000 crore of Public Works Department road work on Thursday, 5 November, and close to 5,900 km of it has a length attached. Split by kilometre, the money looks like strengthening and widening of existing roads rather than new alignments. For contractors who run graders, rollers and pavers in the state, that means a long run of overlay and shoulder work spread across many districts.
What was announced
- State Highway Development Project Phase 5, Package 2: 1,897 km of state highways, the Rs 5,000 crore balance of the package.
- A new Rs 6,000 crore scheme for about 3,986 km of roads linking district headquarters to each other and to taluk headquarters, and taluk to taluk.
- Rs 6,000 crore of Appendix-E road, bridge and building works across Assembly constituencies, plus Rs 3,000 crore of additional road works.
- Timing: the minister said the work would be carried out over the next two financial years.
What the cabinet decided
Rural Development Minister Eshwar Khandre briefed reporters after the meeting. PTI’s report, carried by ThePrint, gives the highway length, the Appendix-E and additional allocations, and the new district and taluk connectivity scheme. CNN-News18 reported the same four parts and put Rs 5,000 crore on the state highway package; the four parts add up to exactly Rs 20,000 crore. Khandre told PTI that one component of the Rs 6,000 crore works will be funded through the Asian Development Bank.
The same sitting also raised the cost of an older road programme around Bengaluru that is mostly built. Carriers give different lengths and extra costs for it, so we leave those figures out.
What kind of road work does Rs 1.5 to 2.6 crore a km buy?
The state highway package works out to about Rs 2.6 crore a km and the district and taluk scheme to about Rs 1.5 crore a km. Both sit well above the roughly Rs 0.67 crore a km of the Rs 10,000 crore rural roads scheme the cabinet cleared in September. They also sit far below a new four-lane highway (see road construction cost per km). That middle band usually buys a thicker bituminous overlay, widened shoulders, culverts and drainage on a road that already exists, with some lane widening on the busier state highways.
The fleet that follows is the paving train. Hot-mix plants and sensor pavers lay the overlay, tandem and pneumatic rollers finish it, and motor graders and soil compactors handle shoulders and base layers. Backhoe loaders dig side drains and culvert pits, and tippers shuttle mix and aggregate. Milling machines matter where levels cannot rise, mainly through towns.
Nearly 5,900 km spread over two years is a lot of separate packages, and most of them will go to district and state-level contractors. That favours buying the mid-size machines that move every few weeks, such as graders, 8 to 10 tonne tandem rollers and backhoe loaders, and hiring the paver and the hot-mix plant. Karnataka’s dry season from about December to May is the main paving window, so packages awarded early in 2027 would get one season before the monsoon.
Dates to note
- PWD tenders for SHDP Phase 5 Package 2 and the district and taluk scheme, the first point at which package sizes become known.
- The paving season from December to May, then the monsoon slowdown from June.
- Local body elections, which News18 reports are likely in January and could hurry work orders before the model code applies.
FAQ
What does Karnataka’s Rs 20,000 crore road package include?
Rs 5,000 crore for 1,897 km of state highways under SHDP Phase 5 Package 2, Rs 6,000 crore for about 3,986 km of district and taluk connecting roads, Rs 6,000 crore of Appendix-E constituency works and Rs 3,000 crore of additional road works.
When was it approved?
At the state cabinet meeting on Thursday, 5 November 2026, briefed by minister Eshwar Khandre.
Which machines will the work need most?
Pavers, hot-mix plants and rollers for the overlays, motor graders and soil compactors for shoulders, and backhoe loaders and tippers for drains and haulage.
Lining up for Karnataka PWD packages? Compare graders and rollers working in
Karnataka, and price hire against ownership for a two-year run of district work.
Related on DesiMachines: Karnataka Rural Road Connectivity Scheme: Rs 10,000 crore for 15,000 km
Source: News18
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