Govt sweetens contract terms for BOT highway projects, boost to pure-play PPP projects

To lure private risk capital into highway construction, the government has revised the concession terms for build operate transfer (BOT) projects. Liberal construction support, facility to borrow from non-bank lenders and enhanced compensation if the tariff projections are built into the revised model concession agreement (MCA).

The changes are expected to give greater comfort to bidders under pure-play public private partnership projects, and the government aims to invite bids for Rs 2.1 trillion of highway projects under the model.