Road projects worth USD 20 bn to be awarded in next 6 months

New Delhi, Nov 8 : Highway projects worth $20 billion will be up for bids over the next six months and the government's differences with private players over certain clauses in public private partnership projects would be ironed out, said Road Transport Minister Kamal Nath here Sunday.

"We are not doing 20 km as yet, but as of March, we will be doing it," Kamal Nath said at the India Economic Summit of the World Economic Forum, referring to the target of constructing 20 km of roads a day.

He attributed the delay in meeting the target to the monsoon and changes that needed to be incorporated in contracts for road projects in the public-private partnership model.

"We are looking at 60 percent of the total requirement ($20 billion) for the year to come from private participants," Kamal Nath said.

The minister also said contentious clauses in concessional agreements that were keeping private investors at bay would be removed or revised to make investment in road projects more attractive and less risky.

"By the end of this month, we should see some clauses like the termination clause in previous agreements go. We want investors to make money," said Kamal Nath, adding that an empowered group of ministers would start resolving contentious issues speedily.

He also said that while the government has targeted adding 7,000 km to India's road network annually, this would be possible only if work started on about 20,000 km of road.

--IANS