Premium rescheduling for highway projects gets Union Cabinet approval

09 Oct 2013 Evaluate

The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal seeking rescheduling of premium payments by highway developers, but at the same time has referred the matter to a committee for further tune ups as regards to projects. The move is expected to benefit players like GMR, GVK and Ashoka Buildcon whose projects were facing delays on account of high premium. 

However, the Highway Ministry is yet waiting for the minutes of the Cabinet meeting to understand the exact content of the approval given, since the proposal contains multiple options of premium rescheduling. The ministry has sent a proposal to the cabinet seeking its nod for rescheduling of premiums of about Rs 1 lakh crore in case of 23 awarded Build-operate-transfer (Toll) projects which have not yet achieved appointed date.

Meanwhile, the highway builders’ apex body National Highways Builders Federation (NHBF) has sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention in ensuring level-playing field for all road projects on premium instead of a selected few, underscoring that policy amendment will be unfair to the developers of those premium BOT (Toll) projects who, despite severe financial hardships and delay in fulfilment of authority's conditions precedents, have taken the appointed date and are implementing the projects.

Further, as per the  highway builders’ apex body, a list of 23 projects identified as stressed projects and recommended for rescheduling of premiums are identified without any specific parameters, which also includes two projects that are already terminated, namely. Kota- Jhalawar and Coimbatore-Mettupalayalam, and so are unjustified as stressed.

Nevertheless, the approval provides relief to the highway Ministry as the proposal had been for long doing the rounds of various Ministries, including Law, Finance and Highways for several months now. The Government officials had been for long dragging their feet on the issue as the proposal involved re-negotiating contract terms already entered into.

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