The Hindu Business Line : `Toll road construction creates many business opportunities'

SPONSORSHIP, bid advisory, project management and merchant banking are various opportunities that have emerged due to the construction of toll roads, the President and CEO of Consolidated Toll Network Ltd, Mr K. Ramchand, said while speaking at the India Trade and Investment Forum on Saturday.

Other such opportunities include tolling, toll auditing and operations and maintenance, he added.

In the longer run, the trend will be towards consolidation, he added.

"The Governments of Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh are looking at unsolicited bids," he said, adding that the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) toll revenue is projected to be Rs 652.42 crore by 2009.

Earlier at the seminar, Mr Athar Shahab, Head-Transport, IDFC, said that the road sector has seen an increased acceptance of user fees. "In the road sector, cost of finance has decreased and expectations on return on equity have also come down," he said.

Pointing out that private participation in the transport infrastructure sector has increased, he said, "Similarly, in ports one sees an increasing trend towards large vessel sizes and increased private sector participation. In the railways, as well, Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) is working on a large number of port connectivity projects."

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`Toll road construction creates many business opportunities'