The National Highways Builders Federation (NHBF) is an apex organization and an institution representing all contractors and builders of National Highways, State Highways, and Bridges in the organized sector across India. Its primary purpose is to work for the welfare of road builders. The Federation's affairs are managed by a managing committee.
The NHBF functions as a key representative body, making submissions to government entities like the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and the Ministry of Finance. It connects directly with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL).
In its mechanism, the NHBF advocates for policy and contractual changes to de-risk projects and ensure financial viability. For instance, it has recently sought a standardized additional escalation support of 17-18 per cent for ongoing projects, citing extraordinary increases in material and logistics costs. It also lobbies for a shift from the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) (toll) model to the BOT (annuity) model to reduce the unacceptably high risk for private developers. Furthermore, the Federation has opposed the move to end arbitration for disputes over ₹10 crore and has sought clarification from the Finance Minister on the 2024 order mandating conciliation. It also advocates for replacing the purely cost-driven L1 bidding system with a Quality-and-Cost-Based Selection (QCBS) approach. The NHBF has also requested the revival of the VIVAD SE VISHWAS II (Contractual Disputes) scheme, enacted by the Ministry of Finance, to resolve the large backlog of disputes with authorities like NHAI.