The NHAI proposal to extend the concession period and Covid-19 loan for operational BOT (Toll) projects and non-treatment of toll suspension as political force majeure could become contentious, according to ICRA. Extension of the concession period by the NHAI and the Covid-19 loan for Operational BOT (Toll) projects does not compensate for loss in net […]
Category: Roads
Roads
Twin NHAI packages provide relief to toll concessionaires
The twin relief measures for toll concessionaires in the form of an extension in the concession period, and a proposal to grant COVID-19 loans will cushion near-term cash flow mismatches and lessen the impact on long-term returns to a large extent. However, the developers who have been approved a debt moratorium are not eligible for […]
Without a valid FASTag, get ready to pay double the toll fee
Vehicles that enter the dedicated FASTag lanes on the national highways with non-activated FASTags or without enough money in the FASTag wallet will have to pay double the toll amount. This is according to a decision of the Road Transport and Highways Ministry and will encourage people to top up their FASTags and prevent userswithout […]
Highway projects in 4 States face tough time: Crisil
An analysis of over 270 under-construction national highways indicates that the top 10 States account for 80 per cent of the projects and in four of these States project execution is at risk. According to Crisil Research, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, that account for over a third of the projects, are […]
`Higher education institutions can tie up with Highway, MSME Ministry for specific projects’
Higher education institutions can tie-up with the Ministries of Road Transport and Highways and Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) for research in specific areas, Nitin Gadkari, said in a meeting with higher education authorities organised by FICCI. He added that such institutions could tie-up in the area of road safety, to conduct road safety audits […]
Welspun Enterprises to acquire BOT project from Essel Group
Welspun Enterprises Ltd. on Thursday announced that its plan to acquire a Build-Operate-Transfer Toll project from Essel group’s company Mukarba Chowk – Panipat Toll Roads Limited, subject to NHAI final approval. This acquisition through a subsidiary (“Welspun Infrafacility Private Limited”), is being done by way of harmonious substitution which was recommended by the project lenders […]
With little clarity on future road traffic, NHAI’s asset sale plans take a big hit
The pandemic has significantly impacted the asset monetisation plans of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), as potential investors are finding it difficult to predict road traffic going forward. This could have a bearing on the Centre’s Bharatmala initiative, which is expected to get delayed by 12 months, according to ratings agency Crisil. The […]
Lockdown to bring down toll collection by 13 per cent: Crisil
Toll collection and remittances from existing roads will fall by 13 per cent, assuming there is only a 57-day lockdown (March 22 to May 17). However, the decline will be sharper 17 per cent if the lockdown is extended by another two weeks, according to a Crisil report. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), […]
Need to speed up work on infra to make up for time lost on Covid-19: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stressed the need to take speedy measures to commence work on new infrastructure projects and speed up works in the infra sector to make up for the time lost on Covid-19. Projects taken up under the National Infrastructure Pipeline must be reviewed at the highest level frequently so as to […]
Government promotes ‘plug and play infrastructure’ to attract investment
The government intends to promote scheme of ‘plug and play’ for further fast-tracking investment proposals especially for projects having substantial foreign investment. This was discussed in a meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday to form strategies for attracting more investment, from both local and foreign. ‘Plug and play’ concept normally refers to […]
Big infra push: ₹111 lakh-crore investment in the pipeline
India’s infrastructure investment goal for the next five years just got bigger with the final report of the Task Force on National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) projecting investments to the tune of ₹111 lakh-crore during financial year 2020-25. This is higher than the ₹102 lakh-crore envisaged when the summary report was released in end December last […]
Highway traffic to de-grow 1,250 bps, toll revenue 850 bps: CRISIL
Curtailed movement of people and goods, and suspension of tolling across the country from March 25, will lead to a 1,250 basis points (BPS) fall in traffic and 850 BPS de-growth in toll revenues of highway operators, according to a study by CRISIL. That would follow near-zero growth in traffic in fiscal 2020 because of […]