Road shows soon to attract foreign highway developers

November 18, 2013

Ajith Athrady, New Delhi,

Concerned over the poor response from domestic developers in bidding for road projects, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is planning to conduct road shows abroad to attract foreign investors to take up projects here.

“Road shows are expected to be held in China, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and other countries over the next few months,” a senior official in the ministry told Deccan Herald.

The ministry will apprise Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is directly monitoring the progress in infrastructure development, including roads, of its intention to go overseas to hunt for investors, said officials.

Recently, Road Secretary Vijay Chhibber had also written to National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) Chairman R P Singh to explore the option of conducting road shows abroad for major expressway projects, such as the Delhi-Meerut Expressway.

As the ministry’s ambitious plan of constructing roads under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is faltering due to lack of interest from domestic investors, the government is now pinning its hopes on foreign investors to keep its PPP plans alive.

PPP-mode projects have suffered setbacks for the past two years after several major private road developers walked out of such projects due to funding concerns.

The United Progressive Alliance government, which is facing a lot of criticism for failure to build highways, is under pressure to show some visible work in road construction as the 2014 general election is approaching fast. The NHAI was able to award only 1,116 km of highway projects, against the target of 9,500 km in the previous fiscal. In current fiscal, too, the NHAI has so far managed to award only 123 km this year, out of its 2,500-km PPP target.

Domestic road developers have also been plagued by premiums that they have to pay the NHAI.

Private developers owe nearly Rs 1.51 lakh crore to the NHAI in premiums over the next 20 years, and companies have been urging the government to reschedule their dues.

Source-http://www.deccanherald.com