Centre sets ambitious highway targets, but few firms can deliver

Maintaining cash flow a problem; experts feel global players needed for execution, maintenance

As the Union government sets out to fix targets for the highways sector, there are few large players that can deliver as required.

Even if companies engaged in executing infrastructure projects have the financial heft to see them through, they are far behind their international peers.

An official in the know said: “There are few players that can undertake build-operate-transfer (BOT) projects and 25-28 mid-sized firms to build hybrid-annuity projects. Together they may not able to achieve the targets set by the Central government. Therefore, we need global players for not just operation and maintenance but also execution.”

The industry says maintaining a