To give a fillip to the ongoing infrastructure sector, the Centre is likely to rope in an adviser for asset monetisation and offer attractive schemes to the private players, make the vehicle scrapping policy more attractive besides expediting the land acquisition process to create a network of expressways and highways during the next few years.
Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said there are plans to make the vehicle scrapping policy more attractive. “We are planning to rope in an Indian expert with experience in global economy for advising NHAI on asset monetisation,” Gadkari said.
The adviser, apart from asset monetisation, will guide the NHAI on innovative ways to meet funding requirements. This comes in the wake of past experience where after the huge success of the maiden bundle of nine highway projects under TOT (toll, operate and transfer) totalling 681 kms of roads in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat in 2018 that fetched NHAI Rs 9,681 crore, the second tranche of 586 kms was cancelled in February 2019 due to lukewarm response.
TOT is a model for monetising operational national highway projects. The investor makes a lumpsum payment in return for long-term toll collection rights backed by a sound tolling system. The concession period is 30 years.
While the Road Minister also announced that the Delhi-Meerut Expressway will be fully completed in next two months, he said there are plans to take up work worth Rs 15 lakh crore in the highways sector over the next five years.
Gadkari added the Government will attract private players into highways building and has already identified 3,000 kms to be bid out under the build operate and transfer (BOT) mode. “For private sector revival in highways building, we have identified 3,000 kms of highways that have 17,000 pcu (passenger car unit) traffic. We plan to bid this out under BOT mode,” the Minister said.
On the vehicle scrapping policy, Gadkari said it would be made more attractive with suggestions from the Finance Ministry and the PMO. The policy aims to pave the way for mandatory scrapping of old vehicles from April 1, 2020.
In May 2016, the Government had floated a draft Voluntary Vehicle Fleet Modernisation Programme (V-VMP) that proposed to take 28 million decade-old vehicles off the road. A committee of secretaries (CoS) had recommended to the ministry redesigning of the scheme for greater participation of states with partial support from the Centre.
About other plans, the Minister said the land acquisition process has been expedited and it has seen a three-fold jump. “This will facilitate our plans of fast-tracking projects besides building 22 green expressways,” he said.
There are also plans to create a highways grid on par with the power grid.
