BRO Set to Replace NHIDCL on Arunachal Strategic Highway

The Transfer Request

When Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Speaker Kardo Nyigyor addressed reporters in Itanagar on August 7, his appeal to student groups to call off their agitation masked a more consequential development.

The state is formally seeking to strip NHIDCL of execution rights on a strategic highway and hand them to the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).

Background of the Likabali Highway

The highway connects Likabali to a number of central and northern districts, including:

- Leparada
- Upper Subansiri
- West Siang
- Shi-Yomi
- Parts of Siang

Originally built under the now-lapsed SARDP-NE programme, the road fell into institutional limbo. Responsibility temporarily reverted to the state government, which lacked the resources to maintain it through repeated monsoon landslides.

In July 2026, the Ministry of Defence stepped in, designating the stretch a national strategic highway.

Why BRO Over NHIDCL?

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) had initially assigned the project to NHIDCL — the Delhi-based corporation mandated to develop highways in the Northeast through EPC and PPP contracts with private players.

However, following joint representations by regional MLAs to Union Minister Kiren Rijiju and Chief Minister Pema Khandu, state leaders formally requested a transfer of execution rights to BRO.

The reasoning is instructive. Nyigyor pointed out that BRO already maintains labour camps and personnel at Likabali, Siji, Garu, Dali, Bam, and Aalo — all along the highway corridor.

When landslides hit, BRO teams can clear blockages and restore drainage immediately. In contrast, NHIDCL’s model relies on private contractors who must mobilise equipment and labour post-facto — a less responsive approach in terrain where monsoon disruptions are frequent and time-sensitive.

This is not merely an operational preference. It reflects a procurement philosophy divergence increasingly shaping infrastructure delivery in India’s border regions.

BRO operates on a force-account model — in-house execution using its General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF). NHIDCL operates through outsourced contracts.

The former prioritises responsiveness and military-grade reliability; the latter prioritises competitive procurement and private-sector efficiency.

Impact on Infrastructure Contractors

For contractors, the implications are direct. If BRO secures the mandate, the EPC packages that would have flowed through NHIDCL to private bidders will not materialise.

The upcoming DPR — expected to take shape between mid-August and September 2026 — may be the only near-term consultancy opportunity on this corridor.

Strategic Shift in Border Infrastructure

The broader signal is worth watching. As SARDP-NE projects lapse and border infrastructure acquires strategic urgency, the Ministry of Defence and BRO are emerging as preferred execution agencies for roads that serve both civilian and military purposes.

NHIDCL, for all its mandate in the Northeast, may find its portfolio narrowing in the most strategically sensitive — and commercially challenging — corridors.

For the infrastructure industry, the Likabali corridor is a test case. If BRO’s takeover succeeds and delivers, expect more border-region highways to follow the same trajectory — from contractor-led EPC to force-account execution under military supervision.