Three key items to remove bottlenecks in road building projects to get cabinet’s approval soon
The ailing road building and infrastructure sector is to get a new lease of life by the highways ministry’s decision to float Cabinet notes on the three key issues that have blocked these projects. These three action areas are: the liberty to choose the mode of project implementation, the power to make changes in the model concession agreement (MCA) and allowing concessionaires to exit fully after construction.
The road transport, highways and shipping minister NitinGadkari is keen to cut administrative layers in the decision-making process and the officials are hoping to see some major transformations in this sector. When the presentations were made to the Cabinet secretariat to be pitched to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, these three items were also included.
The officials first want to prepare a proposal which will contain the details of the bottlenecks and the need for making changes there. Once the proposal is approved by the minister, it can be moved to the Cabinet for the final approval.
These three items were proposed to the previous government too, however did not receive enough support for the plan. The private sector participation has gone down drastically, however the officials feel that now the increased power to choose between public private partnerships (PPPs) and cash contracts (engineering, procurement and construction, or EPC) when awarding projects will bring the private players back to these projects.
Source- The Economic Times
EPC, highways and shipping minister NitinGadkari, MCA, Model concession agreement, PPP model, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Public-private partnerships
