ORR operation bid finalised as per norms: MAUD Special CS Arvind Kumar

The TOT model was approved by the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs, Government of India, MAUD Special CS Arvind Kumar said

Hyderabad: In one of the best bid finalised for highways in the country, the operation of Outer Ring Road, Hyderabad, on Toll, Operate and Transfer (TOT) was awarded for 30 years to IRB Infrastructure Developers, according to norms and in the most transparent manner, said Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) Special Chief Secretary Arvind Kumar.

In pursuance to the approval of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and following the success of NHAI’s TOT projects in oter States, the same exercise was replicated in Telangana, he said.

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“The TOT model was approved by the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs, Government of India (GoI). This is not the first time this model has been adopted for asset monetization,” he said. According to the MA&UD data, the revenue that will be generated by the Telangana government through this asset monetization exercise is much higher compared to the other asset monetizations done by NHAI.

Compared to other projects awarded through TOT by the NHAI, while the time given for companies to get the contract was mostly 72 days and in some cases 98 days, the State government gave 142 days to make sure more companies participate and invited global tenders to ensure more revenue was generated.

Clarifying the misinformation being spread that it was handed over for a cheaper price, Arvind Kumar said that the amount of revenue generated presently cannot be compared to its value after the next 30 years.

“For example, today’s Rs 100 value will be around Rs 1,750 after 30 years, similarly the revenue generated today through the TOT model is much higher and ORR being awarded on TOT basis is one of the best bids finalized for the road infrastructure projects in the country,” he said.

The State government awarded ORR, for 30 years to IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd. for Rs 7,380 crore (USD 0.9 billion).

Arvind Kumar pointed out that Mazars, a France-based leading international audit and tax advisory firm, is the advisor for this transaction. Mazars was also the transaction advisor for NHAI’s two TOT bundles and one TOT Expressway project of the Government of Haryana.

He also clarified that, the concessionaire while collecting the toll charge needs to comply with the norms and charges cannot be collected abnormally.