Highways development requires Rs.200 crore every day

A report by a Parliamentary panel, the Committee on Estimates, has estimated that an investment of र200 crore is needed every day for the next 15-20 years to upgrade and widen highways in the country to international standards. The project to implement this would cost about rupees three lakh crore and would put projects for bidding in seven phases. The plan is particularly relevant considering that the principal mode for construction of highways is PPP (Public Private Partnership). Highways concessions usually extend for periods up to 30 years and require loan facilities for up to 75-80 per cent of such periods. But private investors have been investing in PPP projects very selectively as they find getting capital funding difficult with both capital markets and institutional lenders having constraints in providing long-term funds. The panel recommended government intervention to ensure faster capital infusion into infrastructure projects.