The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) on August 31, 2026, issued the Standard Operating Procedure for Adoption of Automated & Intelligent Machine-aided Construction (AI-MC) in National Highways/Expressways Project.
The following has been stated:
• This circular introduces a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for adopting Automated & Intelligent Machine-aided Construction (AI-MC) in National Highways and Expressways projects. It partially modifies a previous circular from June 23, 2025, by mandating that provisions for AI-MC machinery—specifically GPS-aided Motor Graders for earthworks/subbase/base layers and Intelligent Compaction (IC) Rollers for soil/subbase/base compaction—be explicitly included in Schedule-B or Schedule-D of applicable projects.
• The SOP establishes strict protocols for setting up site control points, executing GNSS Real-Time Kinematics (RTK) calibrations with daily accuracy verifications within ±5 cm, and preparing digital 3D design models for every structural layer under strict version control. Operationally, contractors shall deploy AI-MC continuously across the entire project length rather than in piecemeal patches, map all equipped machinery to a designated cloud platform, and use trial stretches to finalize target roller passes and Compaction Meter Values (CMV).
• Quality assurance is managed through real-time, color-coded heat maps tracking pass counts and material stiffness (CMV), which the Authority’s Engineer shall audit monthly; furthermore, conventional field density tests shall be deliberately targeted at the weakest zones identified on these heat maps rather than chosen at random.
• Finally, the notification outlines strict digital data custody rules, declaring all machine-generated data as property of the Authority, requiring it to be hosted on Indian servers, and ensuring data remains accessible in open formats (like LandXML, CSV, or GeoJSON) throughout the construction, Defect Liability, and O&M periods.
[Notification No. – RW/NH-33044/31/2024-S&R(P&B)]
