This refers to the editorial "Finding a way back" (December 6). The only fault in the current thinking is the belief that the public private partnership (PPP) model in roads is a failure. Partners in the PPP model need to be skill-sharing entities, not resource-sharing. If the private partner is expected to bring in the latest technological innovation to the roads, along with the required finance, the government must concentrate on the facilitation and approval front for access to land, forest and other statutory inputs that are the biggest hassles, and form the foremost reason for stalling a project for a number of years.
Once skill-sharing is well framed and understood in the beginning, and the obligations are set, there is no reason a project should not be completed in time, and well within the budgeted cost frame. Other changes that need to be brought in to the infrastructure sector is the long amortisation of loans since there is no scope of a high return on investment in infrastructure projects. A loss-making project can still be worked out and made profitable with the understanding of social-cost benefit analysis. The PPP model, not only restricted to roads, can be a boon to the entire infrastructure sector and provide much-needed strength this country is looking for to become a developed nation.
Vinay Singhal, Gurgaon
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