Mumbai, 17 December 2021

 

A National Conference on “Investment Opportunities in Highways, Transport and Logistics” has been held in Mumbai today, December 17, 2021, under the chairpersonship of Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari. The conference highlighted investment opportunities in highways, transport and logistics sector, focusing on three central themes, namely the Bharatmala Pariyojana, Asset Monetization and Vehicle Scrapping Policy.

Infrastructure projects worth Rs. 7 Lakh Crore planned by Road Transport Ministry in the next 2-3 years

Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) Shri Nitin Gadkari has urged investors to come forward and invest boldly in the infrastructure sector, which offers a diverse array of investment opportunities spanning multiple asset classes including Highways, Multimodal Logistics Parks, Wayside Amenities, Ropeways, Warehousing Zones and more.

Gadkari said “the Internal Rate of Return in the road sector is very high and hence there is no need to worry about economic viability”.

The Minister said that earlier, projects used to get stalled due to land acquisition issues. But we decided, project will not be awarded before 90% land acquisition is complete and environment clearance is obtained. Citing various other steps taken by his Ministry to speed up road infrastructure projects, the Minister said “Keep your confidence 110%’

The National Conference informed investors and other stakeholders that the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has planned to execute infrastructure projects worth Rs. 7 lakh crore in the next 2-3 years.

The Union Road Transport and Highways Secretary informed that an investment of Rs. 11 - 12 lakh crore is being planned under the Bharatmala programme. Explaining the rationale for the huge investment planned to be made in the highway sector, he said investment in logistics sector has a large multiplier effect on the overall economy.

The Secretary informed that an integrated plan and coordinated implementation of all infrastructure facilities which has been initiated is getting a boost through Gatishakti programme. “We are doing scientific Logistics Effectiveness Studies to understand bottlenecks in infrastructure projects. To remove bottlenecks, NHAI has identified 120 congestion points across the country; ring roads and bypasses are being built to reduce congestion in cities. After connecting all state capitals with at least four-lane National Highways, now we are planning to have expressways connecting all important economic centres of the country.”

The Secretary explained how improved policies and decision making has led to a tangible improvement in outcomes. “In order to facilitate work of contractors, we have thrown out all provisions which caused disputes and caused contractors a lot of pain and loss. NHAI took meetings with MDs of contractors and concessionare companies and based on an honest dialogue, problems in highway construction have been addressed. This has resulted in the record road construction of 37 kilometre per day last year.”

The Secretary assured investors that NHAI will ensure that money invested by them will bring required value and also contribute to national interest. “NHAI will ensure that each highway – whether in PPP or EPC mode - generates much higher revenue than before and is marketable straightaway through transparent processes.”

Speaking about the projects in Maharashtra, the state Industries Minister Shri Subhash Desai said that the Govt. of Maharashtra has an ambitious scheme for developing industrial norms and commercial hubs along expressways, incorporating industrial, commercial and residential activities along these nodes.

Chairperson, NHAI, Alka Upadhyaya informed that NHAI is developing multiple facilities and allied infrastructure, in line with the Prime Minister’s vision for promotion of integrated infrastructure under PM Gati Shakti National Plan. “NHAI has now envisaged development of NH infrastructure in a different fashion. The new thrust is on development of allied highway initiatives like MMLPs, last-mile connectivity through ropeway projects, fibre cables and other infrastructure along National Highways. Almost 8,400 state-of-the-art greenfield expressways are being built as part of Bharat Mala Pariyojana. These corridors will change the face of National Highways infrastructure and also supercharge the economy to a 5 trillion-dollar economy.” The Chairperson stressed that private sector participation is of essential importance in achieving these goals.

The Chairperson informed that Toll Operate and Transfer model has been introduced in order to fulfill the ambitious monetization objective of Rs. 11 lakh crores in next 2 - 3 years. “The TOT model is yielding good results. Further, Infrastructure Investment Fund has been created; about Rs. 8000 crore has been realized so far under this, through five projects.”

Suresh Goyal, MD and CEO of National Highway InvIT (Infrastructure Investment Trust) spoke about the evolution of investment models in the sector. “In the journey from BOT to TOT to HAM (Hybrid Annuity Model), we now have InvIT.  NHAI has always acted upon feedback and continued to build a very progressive and robust concessionary framework; this has contributed immensely to the success of the current monetization programme.”

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PIB Mumbai | 001/DJM/DL/MC/DR

 

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