NHAI cancels TOT round 4 as bids come below target

Mumbai: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has cancelled the fourth round of toll-operate-transfer (TOT) auctions, a notification from the authority said. The decision comes after the nodal road construction authority was unhappy with the value offered by private bidders.

Mint reported on 15 September that the auction round was likely to be cancelled. The NHAI invited bids for the auction in October 2019, for 401 km of toll roads at an initial estimated concession value of ₹4170 crore. The deadline for bidders had been in January this year. Since the auction was first announced, the NHAI has cut the package size in half and postponed the bid submission deadline several times, with the latest being September 30. On Monday, the NHAI decided to cancel the auction altogether.