The plan outlay for the ministry of surface transport is expected to be fixed at around Rs 5,000 crore against Rs 4,262 crore in the interim budget and only Rs 2,997.84 in the revised estimates of the 1997-98 budget. And about three quarters of this outlay is expected to be funded from internal and extra budgetary resources as in the past.
Official sources indicated that only the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is expected to get a substantial budgetary support of Rs 550 crore. The total outlay for the roads sector is expected to be fixed at Rs 2,000 crore, and the remaining component is expected to come in the form of extra budgetary resources which include Build Own Transfer (BOT) highway projects.
For the Shipping sector, the outlay for the current year is expected to fixed at Rs 1,900 crore, of which Rs 1,300 crore is expected to come in the form of extra budgetary resources . The outlay includes ports, light houses, Dredging Corporation of India and the Shipping Corporation of India.
This also includes a proposed foray into the domestic equity markets, into the global depository receipts (GDRs) and into the external commercial borrowings (ECBs) markets, by the SCI. Besides, DCI is also expected to make a venture into the domestic equity markets.
SCI was expected to have gone to the GDR markets last year, though it did not make that foray. It had hoped to make a small domestic public issue, and increase the floating stock in the markets.
These funds are intended for augmenting its fleet and replacing some aging ships. A small portion of IEBR component is also expected to include some bare boat charter cum demise methods of vessel acquisition, a variant of lease backed method.
Currently, SCI has about five ships on order, which include both tankers and bulk carriers.
These vessels are all funded, implying that the funds are raised through a combination of internal resources, shipping credits and external commercial borrowings.
This outlay is also expected to include about Rs 950 crore for ports, of which Rs 650 is to come by way of internal resources and another Rs 300 crore in the form of extra budgetary resources mainly by way of BOT based projects within the port trusts and through joint ventures.
Much of the budgetary support both by way of equity and loans is expected to go to corporations like Hindusthan Shipyard, Cochin Shipyard, Hooghly Dock and Port Engineers and the Inland Water Transport Authority of India.
The last mentioned authority has also sought to make a bond issue of about Rs 100 crore for which it may have to secure permission from the finance ministry, since the act under which the authority was set up does not allow it to tap the financial markets.
