3 Gujarat highway stretches may be lined up for sale

The government may look to add three highway stretches from Gujarat to the asset monetisation pipeline after they were handed back to the National Highways Authority of India after end of the 15-year concession period.

The Centre’s target to mop up Rs 45,000 crore from monetisation of highway projects is expected to get a boost during the next financial year as the roads are high toll earners, sources told TOI.

The three projects in Gujarat, with a cumulative length of 377 km, can be monetised to generate Rs 18,000-20,000 crore, the sources said.

The current toll revenue of these six-laned highway projects — Vadodara-Baruch, Baruch-Surat and Surat-Dahisar — is around Rs 1,700 crore. The NHAI has been monetising projects for 20 years to get upfront payment from successful bidders.