Blitz Bureau
THE Modi Government has kept its word. The BJP’s election promise of strengthening the modern road connectivity ecosystem to 15,000 km. of access-controlled highways and constructing ring roads around major cities to improve mobility and decongest cities has been put on a fast lane.
The Union Cabinet on July 2 approved eight major high-speed corridor projects. These projects, totaling 936 km of highway construction, will involve an investment of Rs.50,655 crore. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the initiative as “transformative” for India’s infrastructure, declaring on social media X that it underscored the Government’s dedication to a “futuristic and connected India.”
Among the eight approved projects, four will be developed using the BuildOperate-Transfer (BOT) model, signalling a return to Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects. Last financial year, only one out of 176 projects was tendered under the BOT model. In this approach, private entities assume the financial risk, construct the project, and maintain it for a set period, recovering costs through tolls collected during this concession period.
In March 2024, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways revised the Model Concession Agreement for Capacity Augmentation on BOT or toll projects to make it more attractive to private investors. This update introduced more flexible compensation, extended concession periods, and improved termination payments. With these changes, the Government anticipates that the private sector will take on some financial risk and engage more actively in building highways through PPPs, which will also create employment.
The Government has also introduced a new ‘construction support’ concept, where the National Highways Authority of India will advance up to 40 per cent of the total project cost in ten instalments based on construction progress. Previously, NHAI only provided equity support. The four BOT projects include: Rs.4,613 crore, 88-km., six-lane AgraGwalior access-controlled high-speed corridor; Rs.10,534 crore, 214-km., six-lane Tharad-Deesa-MehsanaAhmedabad corridor; Rs.5,729 crore, 121-km., four-lane Guwahati Ring Road; and Rs.7,827 crore, eight-lane Nashik Phata-Khed corridor.
