Seeking to raise money to fund new infrastructure projects, the Government has decided to monetise completed road projects. The Government, which is almost ready with its draft, will go-ahead with the auction process in the next two weeks.
“This move will help give a push to public private participation, which has seen a slump in the past few years. There will be excess fund flow once the highway projects are monetised and the developers can further infuse the funds in the creation of newer projects,” said an official from the Ministry of Roads, Highways and transport.
“The Ministry is ready with its draft plan for the monetisation scheme for Highways. We should be going ahead with the auction process of projects in the next 15 days,” said the official.
The official said that the Ministry is in advance talks with several international companies for the auctions. Next week, representatives from a firm in the UAE are expected to come for a meeting with the Minister Nitin Gadkari to take the talks forward.
The official did not elaborate on the list of Highway stretches which will be up for auction.
“Several developers are keen to sell off their projects to get quicker returns, which they can further infuse into new infrastructure projects,” said the official. “The Government has already announced its intentions of awarding 26,000 kms of National Highways projects, of which 20,000 are NHDP projects in the coming six months. So the developers want to probably tap the upcoming opportunities,” he said.