The Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Oscar Fernandes has said that he expects road projects worth over Rs 1 lakh crore, which have been stuck for long, are to start moving from next month as a concrete decision on the rescheduling of premium paid by developers is expected by the end of this December.
The report of C Rangarajan Committee on premium rescheduling is likely to be accepted by this month-end, the Minister said. The government has constituted a panel, headed by Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council C Rangarajan, to look into the issues pertaining to bailout of highway developers.
The government had approved a proposal in October for the postponement of premium payments by highway developers and has referred the matter to the Rangarajan panel. The premium, which is offered by companies during the bidding stage, is based on projected returns from tolls.
The government’s decision may provide relief to a large number of players such as GMR, GVK and Ashoka Buildcon. Their projects have been facing delays on account of high premium the payment made by developers to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under the BOT mode.
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