 "National Highways, NHAI")
A significant reduction in mobility in the second half of 2021-22 will restrict growth in toll road traffic on national highways to a moderate 7-9 per cent for the full year despite a low base of last fiscal year, Crisil Ratings said on Monday.
It further said in next fiscal year (2022-23, adequate traffic growth of 5-7 per cent along with significant hike in toll rates will boost revenue of toll road operators.
According to Crisil, toll rate hike is linked to inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI), which has remained high at over 10 per cent in the first 10 months of fiscal year 2021-22.
Consequently, toll rate hikes are expected at 8-10 per cent in next fiscal year, it said, adding that this, along with the adequate balance sheet liquidity, will continue to support the players' credit profiles.
Crisil Ratings Director Anand Kulkarni said at 7-9 per cent, toll road traffic growth on national highways (NHs) this fiscal year will be lower than the agency's earlier estimate of 10-12 per cent, given the impact of prolonged monsoon and shortage of containers, which led to delays in shipping of goods.
Additionally, he said passenger traffic, where recovery was already fragile, was affected further by the Omicron-led third wave of COVID-19.
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