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Govt readies two concession pacts for private funding in highway sector

The government has finalised two model concession agreements for private investment in the highway sector.

One agreement pertains to major projects costing Rs 1 billion, while the other is for smaller projects costing less than Rs 1 billion, the Minister of State for Surface Transport, Debendra Pradhan, said today.

Speaking at a conference on 'Development of roads in northern region' organised by the Punjab, Haryana and Delhi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, or PHDCCI, in New Delhi Pradhan said that the response from private sector has been encouraging and so far 20 road projects worth Rs 1 billion have been awarded on 'build, own and transfer', or BOT, basis.

In addition, the concept of annuity payment and shadow tolling also been tired for financing the road infrastructure, he said.

International financial institutions like World Bank, Asian Development Bank, or ADB, have been approached for obtaining loan assistance and necessary tie-ups have already been made with these institutions for the regular flow of funds for National Highway Development Programme, or NHDP.

The NHDP involves capacity augmentation of about 13,000-km high-density corridor at an estimated cost Rs 540 billion at current prices, Pradhan said.

The national capital region planning board, or NCRPB, is planning to build expressways in the Kundi-Ghazibad sectors around Delhi to reduce the traffic congestion in the national capital, he added.

UNI

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