GMR finally gives up on India's largest highway project

GMR Infrastructure, after having weeks of discussions with National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), over getting various statutory clearances for its Rs 7,500-crore highway project connecting Rajasthan and Gujarat, has terminated the concession agreement for the same.

The company early last year had won this project, which was expected to beef up GMR's revenues substantially. The company is understood to have walked out of the project after NHAI failed to get the required environmental clearances for GMR to proceed with the project execution. 

GMR Infrastructure, in fact had even achieved financial closure for this project and a third of the equity requirement was also ready.

The project was for six-laning of the 555-km Kishangarh-Udaipur-Ahmedabad stretch, the country’s first expansion of a mega highway.

GMR Infrastructure was also in discussions with global and Indian private equity funds to raise equity in the highways business to take this and other projects forward. The highways business currently accounts for around 10% of GMR's Rs 8,000 crore revenues, dwarfed by the flagship airports and power segments.