Plan to resolve all stressed highway projects by year-end: NHAI

Moneycontrol Bureau

The government has reduced stressed assets in the national highway projects to a fourth in the last two years and is hoping to remove them completely by this year-end, according to a Yes Bank report titled 'Redefining India's Infrastructure'.

Of the 19 stressed projects left, the government has tied up with the State Bank of India for 3 projects wherein the bank will infuse Rs 11,000 crore, said Raghav Chandra, Chairman of National Highways Authority of India.

The government has also got approval for fund infusion for another project between Gurgaon and Jaipur, which is 95 percent complete.

Nearly 40 percent of the road traffic plies on 2 percent national highways. NHAI is working to not only lay down new projects, but also rework on existing highways. The emphasis is on logistics to do away with current bottlenecks.

Around 15,000 registrations every month, are being made under FASTag. It is a Radio Frequency Identification Card (RFID) tag which when stuck on car windshields can deduct toll charges automatically when passing through a toll gate, Chandra noted.

He expects half of the total traffic moving through toll plazas to use these tags in 1-2 years.

Chandra further said that the government has initiated a bidding process for new projects. For funds, NHAI will join hands with national insurer LIC and it also plans to launch green masala bonds.