Govt may scrap Chinese company's bid for Delhi-Mumbai expressway: Report

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The Centre is considering cancelling a Chinese company's bid for the Delhi-Mumbai expressway, amid the government's push to promote local players and make the country self-reliant.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is also reviewing bids from two Malaysian companies for highways projects being executed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), says a report by The Economic Times.

The combined value of these three bids, which were received in March, is about Rs 500-Rs 600 crore, the report added.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the story.

"Our procurement policy is aligned with the national policy, and if that changes, we will have to align with it accordingly" a government official quoted in the report said.

The ministry might take a final call on the projects within a couple of days, the report added.

"The projects which have already been awarded will not be tinkered with," the official said as per the report.

The three projects are funded by the Centre but executed by private companies, through the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model.

The government is also considering a similar push for domestic players in toll-operate-transfer (TOT) auctions, which is part of the NHAI's asset monetisation programme, the report said.

The highways ministry is working on offering small blocks of TOT models, since Indian companies often cannot afford to make large investments, the report added.

The first round of TOT auctions was won by Australia's Macquarie Group, while Singapore's Cube Highways won the third bundle.