Centre eases road BOT bidding norms to attract long-term institutional capital
Hey there! So, you know how CLAT loves questions about how the government works and how big projects get done? Well, this news is super relevant for that. Basically, the government has made it easier for big investment groups, like pension funds and international investors, to bid on building new highways. Before, they could mostly just buy existing toll roads, but now they can also take on the whole job of building and running new ones. This is important because it could speed up how quickly we get new roads, and it shows how the government is trying to get more private money into infrastructure. For your exam, think about how this relates to Public Private Partnerships and government policy on infrastructure development.
The Centre has revised bidding norms for build-operate-transfer (BOT) highway projects, allowing large institutional investors to directly participate in project bids.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways’ move comes after several highway projects awarded under the BOT model failed to attract investor interest amid concerns related to contractual conditions and risk allocation.
The latest move is expected to attract players such as sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, infrastructure funds, as well as private equity firms.
At present, national highway projects in India are executed through multiple models including BOT (Toll), BOT (Annuity), Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC), Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs), and the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM).
The changes are aimed at widening the investor base for highway development projects and improving private sector participation in road infrastructure creation under the PPP framework.
Notably, the ministry has modified the request for proposal (RFP) framework for BOT projects under the public-private partnership (PPP) model and relaxed eligibility norms for investments in such projects.
Earlier, large global funds and institutional investors were permitted to participate primarily in toll-operate-transfer (TOT) projects, which involve operating existing revenue-generating highway assets.
However, under the revised framework, such investors will now also be eligible to bid for BOT projects involving development, operation, and maintenance responsibilities.
Besides, the revised norms expands the definition of eligible bidders to include Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), foreign investment funds, government-owned entities, private entities, and consortium structures.
Additionally, the modified framework provides greater clarity on consortium participation, financial eligibility, conflict-of-interest provisions, and experience requirements for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors executing BOT projects.
The revised framework also tightens disclosure and compliance requirements for bidders.
Under the modified norms, bidders and consortium members will be required to disclose pending regulatory investigations, past contract disputes, arbitration proceedings, and instances of non-performance.
Furthermore, the framework introduces additional safeguards related to financial capacity, project execution capability, and operational performance, including provisions linked to milestone completion, maintenance obligations, and financial closure timelines.
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