The government on Monday said that foreign funds can bid for the contracts for operating toll booths on national highways.
In August, the government approved the monetisation of public funded, operational national highway (NH) projects to generate revenues.
According to Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Munsukh L. Mandaviya, those NH projects that generate toll revenue for at least two years after the start of operations under the "Toll Operate Transfer" (ToT) model will be eligible.
"Projects under ToT model shall be awarded through international competitive bidding in which foreign funds can also participate, subject to the bidder satisfying the eligibility criteria required," Mandaviya informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.
The minister pointed out that 75 operational National Highway projects have been identified so far for monetisation under the ToT model.
"The aggregate length of these projects is around 4,500 km and their annual toll collection is around Rs 2,700 crore," the minister said.
"The proceeds from such monetisation will go to the Consolidated Fund of India, and are to be ring-fenced for utilisation by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)."
--IANS
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