Toll collection on recovery path as Gadkari looks at higher share of PPP

A silver lining has emerged amid the pandemic as toll collection across many highways has seen a quick revival, with traffic on some stretches at 90 per cent of pre-lockdown levels.

“Traffic has returned for a number of stretches. It is now 90 per cent or more of pre-Covid levels,” said a top executive of a fund which owns a road asset portfolio.

As overall toll collection has gone up, the government is now banking on an improvement in the sector through private participation. Union highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said as many as 80 per cent of the projects can be done on PPP (public-private-partnership) mode. Currently, half of the national highway projects awarded by Gadkari’s ministry are on PPP basis.