Govt panel clears 16 highway projects for bidding

Of the total projects, 13 would be executed on EPC mode, two on hybrid annuity model and one on BOP mode

A government panel on Tuesday cleared for bidding 16 highway projects worth Rs 7,456 crore in 11 states: Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Haryana, Gujarat, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha.

These projects, totalling a length of 622 km, are fit for bidding now but the award of these contracts can only take place after 90 per cent of the land acquisition process is made available, Secretary, road transport and highways, Sanjay Mitra, told reporters here, after the meeting of Standing Finance Committee that approved these projects.

EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) projects would require government investment of Rs 3,876 crore. Of the total number of projects, 13 would be executed in EPC mode, two in hybrid annuity mode, and one in BOT (build, operate, and transfer) mode.

These highway contracts include construction of new roads, widening and expansion of existing highways, and rehabilitation and upgrade of some projects. Mitra said detailed project reports of the projects are complete and the contracts can be put up for bidding.

Large infrastructure companies like L&T, Gammon, Jaiprakash Associates and Punj Lloyd have evinced interest in executing highway projects on EPC mode.

According to National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) data, in the list of 62 EPC projects, L&T bagged seven EPC highway contracts in 2015-16 and two projects between April and June, this year (2016-17).

In 2015-16, 87 per cent of the projects were awarded on EPC basis. In 2014-15, the figure was as high as 91 per cent.