Centre mulls highway contract norms to woo private investors

The government is preparing to overhaul highway contract norms in an effort to de-risk private investment and strengthen safeguards for lenders, aiming to bring more private players back into the road sector, reported TOI.

The revised provisions — expected to be notified this month — include revenue support for projects that witness lower-than-projected traffic, extension of tolling periods to compensate for demand shortfalls, buyback options for projects where traffic overshoots capacity, repayment of bank debt in case of contract termination, and substitution of the concessionaire if required.