Adani Group has quoted the highest bid of Rs 1,011 crore for the initially bundle of 53.6 km national highway stretch beneath the fifth round of toll-operate-transfer (TOT) mode although Nagpur-based DP Jain has provided to spend `1,251 crore, the highest by any bidder, to take on extended-term lease the second bundle of 106 km.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had invited bids for the two bundles final September. Financial bids had been opened on Friday.
Indian Highways Concessions Trust, Cube Highways, PATH and IRB are the other bidders who participated in the existing round of auction.
Under the TOT model, the NHAI gives operational highway projects to private entities on a extended-term concession (15-30 years) basis against an upfront payment. During the concession period, the TOT operator collects user charge on the stretches in line with the prescribed prices set by the NHAI to recoup their investments but the operator has to operate and keep the stretches.
Exercising flexibility bestowed upon it by the government, NHAI set the lease period to 20 years for the two bundles on give beneath fifth round of TOT. Both the bundles are aspect of NH-27 in Gujarat.
Just a couple of days ahead of inviting bids for the fifth bundle, NHAI had decided not to disclose the floor value of the highway bundles beneath the TOT model at the time of inviting bids. The floor value or the initial estimated concession worth (IECV) would rather be disclosed only just after deciding on the bidder.
Sources mentioned the NHAI Board will meet in the initially week of March to choose on the floor value. The winning bid really should be greater than the floor value set by the NHAI. Thus, putting the highest bid does not assure the bidder of receiving the stretches on extended-term lease.
Exercising the TOT route, NHAI has currently monetised two bundles totaling 1,247 km that fetched the authority Rs 14,692 crore but, at the identical time, it had to annul two other monetisation attempts (the second and the fourth rounds) previously as investors did not match up the floor value.
The proceeds from the asset monetisation programme are used to repay NHAI’s debt, which mounted to Rs 2.72 lakh crore, as on November 2020, and to create highways.