A total of 4,500-5,000 kilometres is expected to be awarded, out of which 45-55 per cent should be under the HAM mode.
The National Highways Authority of India’s vigor in awarding road projects will continue in the current financial year, with the hybrid annuity model expected to account for half of the projects, according to a report released on Monday. Credit rating agency Crisil said the mid-sized regional players will be taking a large chunk of these Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) awards. A total of 4,500-5,000 kilometres is expected to be awarded, out of which 45-55 per cent should be under the HAM mode. Another 40- 45 per cent would be under the EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) mode and less 5 per cent under the build-operate-transfer (BOT)-toll mode, the report said.
HAM had accounted for 54 per cent of the awards in the last fiscal. “As much as 51 per cent of the 1,900 kilometers awarded by the NHAI has been under HAM in the first half of this fiscal,” the report said, adding that in September alone, the authority awarded 22 HAM projects spanning 730 kilometres. Interestingly, mid-sized regional players grabbed a mighty 58 per cent of the HAM awards during the first half of this fiscal, higher than 33 per cent in the last financial year, the report said.
Interestingly, mid-sized regional players grabbed a mighty 58 per cent of the HAM awards during the first half of this fiscal, higher than 33 per cent in the last financial year, the report said.
The interest in HAM has surged after NHAI reduced the eligibility criteria for its projects and made changes in the model concession agreement to encourage private participation. The reduction in bid-eligibility criteria has paved the path for mid-sized players to enter the space, it added. Under the HAM model, the government provides 40 per cent of the project cost to the developer to start work while the remaining investment has to be made by the developer.
In another development, considering the dumping of debris by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) along the Beas, the HP Forest Department has directed it to take corrective measures. Earlier in August, the department had imposed a fine of Rs 1.15 crore on the NHAI for violations during the construction of the 40-km-long two-lane highway between Ramshila (Kullu) and Manali and 10-km-long four-lane highway between Jia (Bhuntar) and Ramshila. Angel Chauhan, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Kullu, said to protect the sites where debris had been dumped illegally from landslides and subsidence, the department had sent a notice to the NHAI directing it to plant saplings using jute matting technology.Â
He further said rolls of jute mats would be laid by anchors on steep slopes having holes at a uniform distance for plantation. The process would help prevent landslides, he said.
The process would help prevent landslides, he said.
Â