PPP appraisal panel's nod to Rs 5,000-cr road projects

To boost investments in the infrastructure sector, the finance ministry has expedited approvals to projects under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode, especially in road transport and highways.

A senior finance ministry official told Business Standard the PPP Appraisal Committee (PPPAC) spearheaded by Economic Affairs Secretary R Gopalan on Wednesday approved 10 road projects with a total cost of Rs 5,000 crore. The PPP proposals of the ministry of road transport and highways, cleared by the committee in its 45th meeting, includes four-laning of the Vijayawada-Machlipatnam section of National Highway 9 in Andhra Pradesh on a build-operate-and-transfer (toll) basis under the third phase of the National Highways Development Project. The project cost is Rs 606 crore.

Two-laning of the stretch between Bikaner and Suratgarh on NH 11 in Rajasthan has also been approved. A viability gap funding (VGF) of Rs 100 crore has been sought for the project, which will cost about Rs 500 crore.

The third proposal approved by PPPAC on Wednesday is for widening the Chittorgarh (Rajasthan)-Neemach (Madhya Pradesh) section under NH 79 and Nimbahera-Pratapgarh stretch on NH 113 in Rajasthan. The total cost of the projects is Rs 511 crore and VGF worth Rs 102 crore has been sought.

Four-laning of the Sidhi-Singrauli section on NH 75E in Madhya Pradesh with a VGF of Rs 174 crore out of a project cost Rs 871 crore is also in the list.

Other projects approved by the committee are two-laning of Ajmer to Nagaur section on NH 89 (Rajasthan) at a cost of Rs 377 crore and the Rs 224-crore Surat (Gujarat)-Sriganganagar (Rajasthan) section on NH 15 with VGF of Rs 75 crore and Rs 44 crore, respectively.

Three more proposal were also cleared on Wednesday. These are four-laning of a stretch between Mangwan and the MP/UP border on NH 27 at a cost of Rs 381 crore, and Satna-Bela section on NH 27 with a project cost of Rs 320 crore in Madhya Pradesh and four-laning the Zirakpur-Patiala section of NH 64 in Punjab with a cost of Rs 421 crore. These PPP projects will come up on a design-build-finance-operate-and-transfer (toll) basis.

The VGF for the Mangwan to MP/UP border section would be Rs 76 crore, Rs 64 crore for Satna-Bela stretch and Rs 84 crore for Zirakpur to Patiala.

The ministry official said another project — four-laning of Obaidullaganj to Betul on NH 69 in Madhya Pradesh with a proposed cost of Rs 1,152 crore — had been approved but instead of four-laning, it has been allowed part four laning and part two laning. This would bring down the cost of the project and the ministry of road transport and highways will work out the exact cost and inform PPPAC, said the official.