HAM road infra development: Road users may have to pay more tolls in Telangana

Toll collection may be viable for urban and semi-urban roads, which witness high vehicular traffic

HYDERABAD: With the State government gearing up to accelerate road infrastructure development under a Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM), road users might have to pay toll for using some roads developed under the model.

Under HAM, 40 per cent of the funding would be provided by the government and the remaining 60 per cent would be borne by private developers, ensuring efficient resource utilisation and faster execution. The same was disclosed by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka while presenting the Budget in the Assembly on Wednesday.

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As part of this initiative, the government aims to develop 17,000 km of rural roads by 2028, with an estimated investment of Rs 28,000 crore, he said.

Under the HAM model, after development of a road, the government would pay the agency 60 per cent of the project cost with interest in instalments annually. This would be till the completion of the concession period, which could be about 15 years. The agency would be entrusted with the operation and maintenance of the road till the completion of the concession period.

Generally, the concessionaires are permitted to collect toll or the government collects toll in a few cases to generate revenue and meet the O&M costs.

However, the toll collection may not be financially feasible for all the roads. It would be viable for urban and semi-urban roads, which witness high vehicular traffic.

“It is the discretion of the government to collect toll or not. As on date, no decision has been taken by the State government over the issue,” a senior official from the Roads and Buildings Department said.

Already, the R&B and Panchayat Raj and Rural Development departments have conducted a study on identification of roads to be taken up under HAM.