Nhai To Float Rs 10000 Crore Bond Issue In 2002-03

National Highway Authority of India, (NHAI) is going to hit the bond market with Rs 10,000 crore issue in the next financial year to part-finance the first phase of development of 14,000 km of national highways in the country.

Disclosing this, Deepak Dasgupta, chairman, NHAI said this phase would entail an investment of Rs 30,000 crore, a substantial part of which would be invested in Golden Quadrilateral, a project that would connect all four metros, Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai.

"The bond could be in the line of infrastructure bonds that provide exemption from capital gains. We have already raised Rs 900 crore through such instrument. Moreover, we are also expecting Rs 8000 crore from multilateral agencies like World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB). Apart from this, NHAI is in talks with Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) to raise Rs 5,000 crore more," Dasgupta said adding that the authority is getting around Rs 2000 crore every year by way of Re 1 cess on per litre diesel.

NHAI is also taking special care about maintenance of the newly built roads. It is mulling over introducing 'corridor management' which will encompass many facets of protecting new and existing highways. "There will be check posts in every five kilometer stretch where commuters would find everything from modern communication links to food and healthcare service to breakdown vans, all under one umbrella. There will be patrolling along the roads to guard traffic," S C Saluja, chief general manager, NHAI told Business Standard.

He also informed that government is trying to evolve a mechanism to ensure that collections from is speedily utilised for maintenance. "Tolls collected from a particular stretch could be used for upkeep of only that part of the road," he added.

NHAI CGM was talking to the media at the inauguration ceremony of four laning of 42 kilometer stretch between Ranignj and Panagarh on NH-2. Union minister for road transport and highways, B C Khanduri and state public works department minister Amar Choudhury was also present in the occasion.

The Rs 181 crore project was funded by ADB and executed by BSC RBM-Pati joint venture company in four years time.

Central government has so far awarded Rs 18,000 crore worth of contract this year. Work worth another Rs 8000 crore would be taken up soon, Khanduri said, adding road connectivity between the four main metropolises would be given priority.

Referring to West Bengal, he said Rs 2500 crore was given by the centre every year for maintenance of national highways and construction of new roads, including in rural areas. This year Rs 135 crore had already been to the state.