Reliance Infrastructure Ltd’s special purpose vehicle, SU Toll Road Pvt Ltd, today announced that it has completed the Rs 1,061-crore, 136-km Salem-Ulundurpet road in Tamil Nadu. The company has commenced collecting toll charges on the road.
The project has been executed on the build, operate, transfer model. Reliance Infra will collect toll on the road for 25 years, after which the road will come under the ownership and maintenance of the National Highways Authority of India.
Thanks to the new road, travelling time will be reduced by more than one-and-a-half hours, says Reliance Infra in a statement. Because the average speed of a vehicle can go up from 35 kmph to almost twice as much, travel time will come down from three-and-a-half hours now, to two hours.
Three 10-lane toll plazas have been constructed along the road, which are also equipped with an emergency control room and ambulances.
A car will pay Rs 37 for a single journey and Rs 56 for multiple journeys. Similarly, an LCV will pay Rs 65 and Rs 97, a bus or a truck Rs 130 and Rs 195, a multi-axle vehicle Rs 209 and Rs 313, respectively. Of course, discounted monthly passes are available.
Reliance Infra has so far completed five road projects in Tamil Nadu, built at a total cost of Rs 3,300 crore. The company has currently 11 road projects of 1,000 km worth Rs 12,000 crore, says the release.
Reliance Infrastructure Ltd is also developing two metro rail projects in Mumbai, and it operates the airport metro express in Delhi. Further, it has contracts to maintain five airports in Maharashtra and is building two cement plants.
Developing power projects is another main line of business — the company has five power stations of total capacity of 940 MW. It is also developing five transmission projects, which includes the country’s first independent private transmission project.
According to the press release, Reliance Infra has orders on hand worth Rs 17,280 crore.
In 2011-12, the company achieved a turnover of Rs 17,906 crore, and a net profit of Rs 2,000. Each share earned Rs 75.70.
On the BSE today, Reliance Infra shares are currently trading at Rs 487.70, up Rs 13.95 over the previous close.