PPPAC recommends projects worth Rs 7,595 cr

The length of all these projects, sponsored by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, is 626 kilometers

A government panel has recommended five road transport and highway projects worth Rs 7,595 crore in the public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

The Public-Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC), headed by Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram, recommended these projects in its meeting on Friday.

The projects, involving two and four laning of roads and highways, are in Karnataka (Rs 693 crore), Kerala (Rs 577 crore), Madhya Pradesh (Rs 922 crore) and Haryana (Rs 878 crore). The fifth project is Eastern Peripheral Expressway, which is pegged at Rs 4,524 crore. The length of all these projects, sponsored by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, is 626 kilometers.

An Empowered Committee (EC), also headed by Mayaram, approved Viability Gap Funding (VGF) of Rs 1,280 crore for PPP projects in its 19th meeting on Friday.

It accorded in-principle approval to four projects, including two from Maharashtra and two Uttar Pradesh for VGF of Rs 695, and final approval to two projects from Uttar Pradesh for VGF of Rs 585, the finance ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

Since its constitution in January 2006, PPPAC has approved 272 central sector projects worth Rs 2,96,579 crore. These include national highways (223 proposals), ports (32 proposals), airports (two proposals) and tourism infrastructure (one proposal), housing (eight proposals) and sports (five proposals). This year 19 projects worth Rs 43,903 crore have been approved.