New Delhi: Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said that infrastructure development is key to making India a strong economic power, and the highways ministry has taken a decision to convert 25,000-30,000 km two-lane highways into four lanes at an investment of Rs 10 lakh crore.
Addressing an event here, Gadkari further said that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) will now encourage the Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) model to raise money for highway projects from Indian investors.
“To make India a strong economic power, infrastructure is key... We have taken a decision to convert 25,000-30,000 km two-lane highways in the country into four lanes for Rs 8-10 lakh crore,” he said. The road transport and highways minister further said his dream is to complete road projects worth Rs 5-6 lakh crore every year.
National Highways are developed under different modes of execution, including Build-Operate-Transfer(BOT or toll, BOT (Annuity), Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC), InvIT and Hybrid Annuity model.
Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) is an instrument on the pattern of mutual funds, designed to pool money from investors and invest in assets that will provide cash flows over a period of time.
Gadkari also said the government is working to revise BOT model (annuity) for the construction of roads, under which the highways ministry will collect tolls for 15 years, and share part of it with concessionaires.
“We will construct highways under the BOT model but for 15 years toll will be collected by the government and we will give money to them(concessionaires) on an annuity basis. “
And maintenance of highways for 15 years will be done by contractors,” he said.
BOT projects provide the risk of financing, building and operating highway projects with a concession period of 20-30 years. “The quality of highways constructed under EPC model is not good when compared to highways constructed under the BOT model,” he said.
The minister further said that there is no problem if toll increases by 10 per cent. However if it(toll) goes beyond 10 per cent the concessionaires must share 50 per cent of the additional with the government.
Gadkari, who is known for his frank views, said he will not tolerate contractors who make cartels for getting highway projects.