Highway stretches may be offered for as low as Rs 1,500 crore to attract domestic companies.
Highway stretches may be offered for as low as Rs 1,500 crore to attract domestic companies.
India could offer highway stretches for as low as Rs 1,500 crore, as the government looks to attract smaller, domestic investors to manage its road assets.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which monetizes operating assets through the Toll-Operate-Transfer (TOT) model, gives long-term tolling rights to concessionaires against a lump sum payment.
The board of NHAI recently approved the TOT-5 bundle, which is likely to have a base price of less than Rs 2,000 crore.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has also been batting for smaller TOT packages to attract domestic companies.
According to a senior government official, they have assessed the capacity of our domestic operators -- Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 2,500 crore seems to be the range suited for TOT.
The official added that, these are strategic assets, and they would want them in the hands of domestic companies.
In 2018, NHAI raised around Rs 9,700 crore through its maiden TOT auctions round, which was bagged by Australia's Macquarie Group.
TOT-2, which was looking to draw Rs 5,362 crore, was cancelled early last year as the authority wanted to rework the package.
TOT-3 was bagged by Singapore-based Cube Highways, for Rs 5,011 crore.
The government official added It's about Atmanirbhar Bharat (the government's self-reliant India initiative); the idea is to encourage domestic companies now,” another government.
The road ahead for the TOT model, however, is tough as the Covid-19 pandemic has hit investor sentiment, the official added.
The government is looking to encourage local manufacturing and to empower local businesses.
The official also said that the next few packages, they will try and experiment with smaller packages and see how the response is
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01-2026
