NHAI seeks bids for fourth bundle of TOT, sets base price of ₹4170 crore

Mumbai: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has invited bids from the private sector for auctioning of tolling rights in seven National Highways, as part of the fourth bundle of its toll-operate-transfer programme. The NHAI has set the base price at ₹4170 crore.

This bundle has 401.58 km of roads in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan. The last date for submitting bids is 14 January, 2020.

This comes while the NHAI is evaluating bids in the third bundle. Mint reported in September that Adani Enterprises, Cube Highways and Infrastructure, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and IRB Infrastructure were expected to place binding bids for TOT 3. The reserve price had been set at ₹4,995.48 crore. The winning bidder is expected to be announced over the course of this month.

The TOT model, introduced by the National Democratic Alliance government in 2016, is part of the Centre’s efforts to monetize operating public infrastructure and build new assets under programmes such as Bharatmala. Under the model, the highest bidder wins the rights to operate and maintain the assets over a 30-year concession period, with rights to toll revenues from these assets until then.

National Highways Authority of India