Who Is PNC Infratech? Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway Sinks, Yet Firm Bags ₹3,483 Cr In New Contracts | Lucknow-news News

Last Updated:August 06, 2026, 08:16 IST

Just 24 days after opening, the ₹4,700cr Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway caved in near Unnao — even as NHAI hands builder PNC Infratech ₹3,483cr in new highway contracts.

NHAI has issued a show-cause notice proposing to declare PNC Infratech a ‘non-performer’ over the Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway’s repeated subsidence.

Barely 14 days after its inauguration, the ₹4,700-crore Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway began caving in at multiple points, putting builder PNC Infratech Limited under scrutiny. NHAI has moved to declare the firm a “non-performer” even as it signed the company on for two fresh highway projects worth ₹3,483 crore days before the collapses began.

The timing has raised uncomfortable questions. PNC Infratech was the concessionaire responsible for building and, until recently, operating the 63-km expressway — India’s first “barrier-less” expressway — under a public-private model.

Just as NHAI began disciplinary action against the company over the road’s deteriorating quality, official stock exchange filings show PNC Infratech had, days earlier, signed concession agreements for two new National Highway packages, this time along NH-927 in Uttar Pradesh.

What Exactly Is PNC Infratech Being Accused Of?

NHAI has issued a show-cause notice proposing to declare PNC Infratech a “non-performer” over the Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway’s repeated subsidence — six separate locations have reported road cave-ins since the expressway opened, according to reports.

The authority has also ordered the company to bear the entire cost of repairs, estimated at around ₹3 crore for the affected stretch so far, and said toll collection on the expressway will stay suspended until repair work is completed.

A 2% penalty on the performance security amount has also been proposed, along with a possible three-year debarment for the project’s head of pavement/highway and other responsible officials.

Why Is The Timing Of The New Contracts Controversial?

According to disclosures the company made to BSE and NSE on July 17, 2026, PNC Infratech signed concession agreements on the evening of July 16 for two Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) packages on NH-927 in Uttar Pradesh — barely days before NHAI’s action on the Lucknow-Kanpur project became public.

Critics, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, have questioned why a company facing “non-performer” proceedings on one project was simultaneously handed new contracts on another.

Yadav shared a video of the caved-in expressway on social media, criticising the ₹4,700-crore project’s condition. So far, NHAI has not publicly responded to the specific criticism over the new contract timing.

What Has NHAI Done So Far?

Besides the non-performer notice, NHAI has removed three officials — the construction agency’s project manager, the independent engineer’s team leader, and the resident engineer — from the project and barred them from any NHAI, MoRTH or NHIDCL project for two years.

The current and former project directors have also been named in the disciplinary process. NHAI has additionally ordered a full technical audit of the expressway, to be conducted by a team from IIT Kanpur and NHAI’s Delhi headquarters, alongside a laser profilometer-based pavement assessment led by an IIT Kharagpur professor.

PNC Infratech: Quick Profile

Timeline: From Inauguration To Controversy

About the Author

Sumedha Kirti

Sumedha Kirti is a Chief Sub Editor with over eight years of experience — both at the desk and reporting. She is a graduate from Delhi University’s Miranda House. Kirti has previously worked with news…Read More

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