Adani Enterprises secures funds to build Ganga Expressway at Rs 23,000 cr

Adani Enterprises (AEL), which will build part of the Meerut-Prayagraj Ganga Expressway, has secured finances for the project nine months after winning the contract, it said on Thursday.

The company has secured debt worth Rs 10,238 crore and will make a capital infusion of Rs 6,826 crore. The company was the lowest bidder for the 464-km stretch of the expressway, quoting Rs 5,996 crore in viable gap funding (VGF) for the work. Altogether, the project will be built for Rs 23,060 crore.

“The State Bank of India has underwritten the entire debt requirement of INR 10,238 Crore for the Ganga Expressway Projects (BHRPL, HURPL and UPRPL). With this facility from the SBI, we have moved a step closer to providing our country and the state of UP with another landmark infrastructure,” said K P Maheshwari, chief executive officer of AEL’s road business.

AEL set up three special purpose vehicles (SPV) for the project--Budaun Hardoi Road Private Ltd (BHRPL), Hardoi Unnao Road Private Ltd (HURPL) and Unnao Prayagraj Road Private Ltd (UPRPL)--for three separate stretches, comprising 80 per cent of the 594-km expressway.

The projects were awarded to AEL in December last year on a design-build-finance-operate-transfer (DBFOT) basis, with a concession period of 30 years. The initial estimate of the project, when introduced by the Uttar Pradesh government, was reportedly Rs 17,085 crore.

Ganga Expressway will have six lanes (expandable to eight-lane), it will be access-controlled and it is one of India’s most expensive road projects. It consists of four stretches: AEL is building three and IRB Infrastructure a 129-km stretch.

AEL’s portfolio comprises 18 road projects with more than 6,400 lane km and an asset value of more than Rs 44,000 crore. It spreads over ten states: Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Gujarat, West Bengal, and Odisha.

The company recently acquired four toll roads in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh from Macquarie Asia Infrastructure Fund for Rs 3,110 crore.