China keen to invest in highway projects in India

Delegation from China Railway Construction Corp, led by its Chief Economist Zhao Jinuha meets NHAI Chairman

Upcoming bidding for highway projects on both engineering, procurement and construction mode and hybrid annuity model may witness participation from China Railway Construction Corporation Limited, as the government of China enterprise has expressed its interest in bidding for projects to be offered by National Highways Authority of India.

A high level delegation from the China Railway Construction Corporation Limited, led by its Chief Economist Zhao Jinuha met the Chairman, NHAI Raghav Chandra.

NHAI has projects lined up for upgradation of 2-lane national highways totaling 50,000 kms, various special expressway projects of around 15,000 km and a part of the National Highways Development Programme (NHDP) over the next few years, an official statement said.

NHAI is also looking at various other connectivity projects in India for bypasses and ring roads around major cities contributing towards the smart cities projects, the statement said.

The Chinese delegates were keen on knowing about any restrictions on sources of procurement from abroad, import certifications requirements, whether US dollar could be the currency of repayment (as annuity), availability of repayment guarantee and proof of capacity of NHAI to pay annuity and funding under the Hybrid Annuity Model.