Highway projects under PPP mode are embroiled in tolling issues, lack of equity with developers and delays in land acquisition, the government said today.
"Identified bottlenecks in execution of projects faced by NHAI under PPP mode" include delays in land acquisition and green nods, lack of equity with developers and reduced traffic growth among others, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.
He said the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was executing 158 projects under public private partnership (PPP) mode at present which are under various stages of development.
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He said NHAI has executed 84 projects under the mode but at present the PPP mode was not feasible due to general economic slowdown, lack of suitable empowerment to NHAI and grey areas in model concession agreement with developers.
Last month Gadkari had said that as many as 189 projects with a cost of Rs 1,80,000 crore were stuck due to problems in land acquisition, delays in forest and environment clearances, non-transfer of defence land and hurdles in rail overbridges and PPP model was not feasible due to a host of issues "created by the previous government."
The government would roll on EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) model for a few years.
Unlike PPP model where the private sector has to fund the road building, in the EPC model, the government funds a highway, with private firms designing and building the road.
He had also said that 11 projects under PPP by previous regime which are stuck for two years will be rolled under EPC.
