The Hindu Business Line : States urged to focus on public-pvt partnerships

Kolkata, Aug. 8 Public-private partnerships (PPP) in infrastructure projects need to be integrated in the planning process, according to Mr Gajendra Haldea, Principal Adviser (Infrastructure) Planning Commission.

Addressing the Eastern Infra Con 2008, organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce here on Friday, Mr Haldea said the 11th Plan document for the first time included details of investments through the PPP model. The States should also integrate any PPP initiative right from the planning stage, he added.

The reliance on the PPP model was now inevitable for States which would stand to benefit if they moved faster in their initiatives, he said pointing out that only 4-5 per cent of GDP in India was being invested in development of infrastructure as against 10-12 per cent in China.

An estimated 46,000 km of highways would be developed in the country by 2012 entailing an investment of $ 59 billion, out of which 21,036 km would be through the PPP model, he added.

Attributing the delay in public investments in infrastructure projects to time and cost constraints, he said, “only time would say whether the modernisation project of the Kolkata airport, to be funded entirely by the Government, can be an exception.” India would require $ 550 billion of investment in infrastructure over the next five years, he said.

Mr Ashok Bhattacharya, West Bengal Minister for Municipal Affair and Urban Development, pointed out that compared to many other states, the share of West Bengal in Central funds for infrastructure projects had been low.

“Norms for granting funds should be simplified,” he observed. So far, 43 infrastructure projects have been taken up in the state under the PPP model involving over Rs 40,000 crore of investment, he added.

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