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The NHAI, an autonomous highway agency under the government’s Ministry of Road Transport Asset Recycling Plan is Reshaping Road transport in india.
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NHAI’s Asset Recycling Plan is Reshaping National Highways The Government of India and its Ministries are using innovative financial plans to revamp India’s public infrastructure, including national highways. One of the plans that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is using to reshape highways is the Asset Recycling Plan (ARP). The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), an autonomous highway agency under the government’s Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH), has been tasked with the development, maintenance, and management of the Indian National Highway network. It has embarked on a mission to develop the highway sector on par with global standards. One of the projects in this mission is Bharatmala Pariyojna. The Central government, through Bharatmala, is planning to restructure the highway network. So, to fund the massive project, it has come up with several financial plans. Asset Recycling Plan is one of those plans. This plan monetises the existing assets and has worked well in the last fiscal (2017-2018). Under ARP, the NHAI has introduced the Toll Operate Transfer (TOT) model. It invited bids from national and international investors (concessionaires) who are interested in maintaining and managing the stretches of national highways that fall under Bharatmala. The concessionaires would be awarded contracts to collect Toll and maintain the mandated strips of highway roads for a stipulated period of time. The funds accrued from them will provide the NHAI with necessary capital for its future projects. The NHAI received an overwhelming response from international as well as national developers and investors. In the 2017-18 fiscal, the autonomous highway agency raised about Rs 10,500 crores by implementing the TOT model. In the current fiscal, the MoRTH is planning to raise more funds through this model. Above all, this model has set an example for other government ministries and their departments. Other departments might soon implement this model in the developmental works under their purview. #highwaysinIndia #RoadtransportIndia #BharatmalaPariyojna