In the first instance of a group of lenders taking over an expressway project, an IDFC led consortium will take receivership of Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway project, the flagship public private partnership (PPP) project, which has been in trouble for the past three years. This development came after Delhi High Court approved a settlement among IDFC, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and DSC.
Further, the settlement also ensures that more than 200,000 commuters travelling between Delhi and Gurgaon do not need to pay toll and the free ride would be at the cost of those coming from the Manesar side to Delhi and Gurgaon who would now have to pay 80 per cent more than the existing toll. The new toll rates would partially make up for the loss in revenue as IDFC stood to lose more than 60 per cent of the revenue generated on the expressway.
Currently, the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway has three toll gates, a six-lane toll plaza at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGAI), an 18- lane toll plaza at Kherki Dhaula and a 32-lane toll plaza at Sirhaul. According to toll collection figures available for 2012-13, the toll plazas at Sirhaul and IGAI loop collect Rs 120 crore of the total Rs 198 crore collected on the expressway.
IDFC is the country’s leading integrated infrastructure finance player providing end to end infrastructure financing and project implementation services.