| Easing of the present norms will mean putting in place programme-based approval instead of the present practice of running each and every project through the stringent two-stage approval process of the ADB. |
| The government has approached multilateral institutions like the World Bank and the ADB viability gap support given for the BOT projects in the form of grant of up to 40 per cent of the project cost. The bidding for these projects is based on the amount of grant quoted by companies. |
| While discussions with the World Bank were still in the initial stage, negotiations with the ADB had shown some progress, a ministry official said. He added that in answer to ADB's apprehensions, NHAI had said it was already going to set up separate project appraisal cells. |
| ADB, however, has proposed to inititate pilot projects where it would post its own officials at the NHAI to impart training on the parameters it wanted to be covered during the appraisal. The ADB representative will also examine whether the project appraisal procedures followed by the authority is satisfactory and meets the bank's standards. |
| Programme-based approval will mean that ADB will provide support for all projects on a particular highway. For further satisfaction of the bank, the NHAI is also ready to provide details of each project in a mutually-agreed format before the programme is commissioned. |
| This relaxation was crucial for the BOT projects as otherwise it would have been difficult to dictate terms to the private parties taking over the development and construction of the highways. |
| At present, multilateral agencies, when funding a project, have a say in the project. "The government does not want to restrict private operators, as it may discourage them," an official said. |
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