A committee on infrastructure, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, today cleared the Rs 22,750-crore fifth phase of the national highways scheme covering 6,500 km. | |
| This phase, expected to be completed by 2012, will see the six-laning of 5,700 km of the Golden Quadrilateral and 800 km of select highways. |
| |
| Named NHDP-V, the project is estimated to cost Rs 3.5 crore per km and private investment estimated at Rs 19,335 crore. Budgetary support would be about Rs 3,415 crore. |
| |
| "The project will be handled by a new concession agreement. It will be on the 'design-build-finance-operate-transfer' basis," Road Transport and Highways Minister TR Baalu said. |
| |
| "The model concession agreement (MCA) would be ready in the next two weeks and it would be applicable to projects beyond 100 km," he added. |
| |
| Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said the finance ministry had a different opinion on some sections of the MCA. |
| |
| "A committee of secretaries will look into it and this will be finalised in the next 15 days," Ahluwalia said. "Apart from the Golden Quadrilateral, the highways with a traffic of 25,000 per car would qualify for 6-laning," he added. |
| |
|
| |
