New Delhi: After oil and fertilizer, a new commodity is feeling the heat of the West Asia conflict: bitumen. With India’s plan to build nearly 10,000 km of highways in FY27 under threat, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is urgently securing bitumen supplies from state-run oil refiners like Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd (HPCL), two people aware of the development said.
“Bitumen prices are revised every 15 days, and in discussions with highway builders, NHAI has said it will coordinate with oil marketing companies IOCL, HPCL, and BPCL to ensure that supplies are not impacted,” said one of the people cited above, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
India’s annual bitumen requirement is nearly 9 million tonnes. Industry estimates suggest bitumen prices range from ₹40,000-60,000 per tonne in India, depending on quality. Global prices are in the $400-500 per tonne range, roughly equivalent to Indian prices using the current rupee-dollar exchange rate.
The ministry of road transport and highways, through NHAI, started discussions with the industry over bitumen supplies because it is a crucial input and India is dependent on West Asian imports, said the second person, also...
