'Taking steps for revamp of NHAI,' says Gadkari; encourages PPP model in road-building

Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said the government is taking steps to revamp the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and large-scale reforms are needed further and must be carried out at the earliest. 

'Major reforms are needed'

"We are taking steps for revamp of NHAI....major reforms are needed in the Authority," the Minister said addressing a webinar organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).

The minister said the need of the hour is to devise bankable projects suitable for the market with acute precision and accuracy citing how NHAI devised Rs 5,000 crore highway monetisation projects under TOT (toll-operator-transfer) mode which could only be bid by foreign players.

"It took six months to convince them (Authority) to come out with small Rs 500 crore packages for asset monetisation under TOT as Rs 5,000 crore package could only be bid by foreign players," Gadkari said. He added that "the project mode should be market-driven and bankable" and not just which are taken in "boardrooms."

'Tenders are not out yet'

"Likewise, instead of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode, the Authority was in favour of build-operate-transfer (BOT) model for building 3,000 km of highways but tenders are not out yet," he said while speaking in the webinar on 'COVID-19 Impact and Investment Opportunities in Roads and Highways'.

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The Union Minister also cited delays in setting up roadside amenities and stressed that the Centre is planning to set up 2,000 petrol pumps along the highways. Gadkari also expressed displeasure over NHAI seeking time from players for settlement of disputes adding that NHAI sought time in 22 such cases.

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He urged industry players to turn the present COVID-19 crisis into opportunity by tapping the global market in the current scenario. He also urged the industry to be more competitive and come out with innovative projects including the pre-cast structures for highways.

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NHAI has been mandated the task to develop, maintain and manage National Highways, the arterial roads of the country, for inter-state movement of passengers and goods. The total length of National Highways at present is about 1.5 lakh km, about 2% of the length of all the roads, but they carry about 40% of the total traffic.

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(with PTI inputs)