The Hindu Business Line : Major road projects coming up for bidding

On the stretch
Compared to 800 km of BOT-toll projects in 2006-07, 6273 km to be on offer this year
Proposal to invite bids for 817 km of highways are awaiting PPPAC nod
Proposal for another 646 km highways to be sent to PPPAC in a week

New Delhi June 25 After a slump last year, toll road operators can look forward to a host of projects over the next few months with the Road Transport and Highways Ministry aiming to award contracts for 6,273 km on a build-operate-transfer (BOT-toll) basis in 2007-08.

This is the highest ever annual target for highways development and is expected to cost an estimated Rs 40,955 crore.

BOT-Toll basis

Under BOT-toll system, road developers widen a road and are allowed to collect toll from the users of the road stretch for certain duration.

In 2006-07, projects for about only 800 km were awarded on BOT-toll basis.

Overall, only 1,734 km highways were awarded in 2006-07 compared to 4,740 km in 2005-06.

The Ministry, which has prepared a quarter-wise target for the projects to be awarded this fiscal, said that work has already started for the detailed project report preparation for these projects targeted for award in the second and third quarters.

PENDING APPROVAL

"We have already sent the proposals to public private partnership appraisal committee (PPPAC) for clearing 817 km of national highways, which are pending approval.

Next week, we would move projects for another 646 km of national highways to PPPAC," Mr Vijay Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, told Business Line.

PPPAC is an inter-ministerial committee that needs to approve NHAI's project proposals before NHAI can start the bidding process.

Constituted after a Cabinet decision in October 2005, the committee is headed by the Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, and has the Secretaries of the Department of Expenditure, the Planning Commission, the Department of Legal Affairs, and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways as members.

QUARTERLY TARGETS

The Ministry has targeted awarding 144 km four-laning projects in the first quarter; 1,387 km of projects (887 km of six laning on Golden Quadrilateral and 500 km of four laning) in the second quarter; 1,999 km projects in third quarter (180 km of six-laning, 1,819 km of four laning) and 2,743 km in the fourth quarter (1,928 km of six-laning on Golden Quadrilateral and 815 km of four-laning).

The total of 6,273 km national highways targeted to be awarded this fiscal includes 2,995 km of six-laning of Golden Quadrilateral under the National Highways Development Programme (NHDP) Phase-V, 2,224 kilometre of NHDP III A and 1,054 km of NHDP III B.

The NHDP III projects envisage four-laning of stretches.

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Major road projects coming up for bidding