Cabinet to put road projects on fast track

The United Progressive Alliance government is working to put the National Highways Development Programme (NHDP) on the fast track.

The Cabinet is expected to soon consider a set of proposals to upgrade 41,000 km of national highways under the fourth phase of the NHDP and a second proposal to widen over 6,000 km of national and state roads under the Accelerated North-East Development Programme.

The two proposals are expected to cost Rs 62,000 crore. They would be in addition to the 24,000 km of national highways being developed at present under various programmes.

Both projects will be executed by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and are expected to be completed by 2008. The fourth phase involved upgradation of the 41,000 km of national highways on an annuity basis, at a cost of Rs 55,000 crore, a road transport and highways ministry official told Business Standard.

These stretches would not be tolled, but NHAI would pay a fixed semi-annual sum to the project operator during a concession period spanning 18 years, which included the construction period, to compensate the operator for the capital cost and operating expenses of the project plus a certain percentage of returns thereon.

"While 23,000 km of national highways that at present are with single or intermediate lanes, will be two-laned with pavements. The pavements will be built on the remaining 18,000 km that are already two-laned," he added.

The Accelerated North East Development Programme, on the other hand, envisages connecting 36 district headquarters in region as well as centres of economic and religious importance with state capitals and national highways at the cost of Rs 7,600 crore.

A total of 2,883 km of national highways and 3,513 km of state roads, including general staff roads under the control of border forces, will be widened under the project. The projects will be executed on a built-operate-transfer (BOT) basis, with the ministry proposing a 40 per cent or Rs 3,040 crore budgetary support.

With these two proposals, the Cabinet will be considering road projects worth Rs 1.17 lakh crore for widening of 57,000 km of stretches over the next few months.

While the Cabinet proposals for these two projects are ready, a third proposal for phase three or the 10,000 kilometres Pradhan Mantri Bharat Jodo Pariyojana (PMBJP).