India awarded five road projects for 109.12 billion rupees ($2.7 billion) on Friday to private companies, including Larsen & Toubro and a consortia of Deutsche Bank and Malaysia's IJM Corp Berhad, a senior government official said. Join discussion...

The government has revised certain provisions of “Request for Qualification” (RFQ) document required in Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) Projects. The model RFQ now provides that Threshold Technical Capability (TTC) shall be twice that of the Total Project Cost (TPC). As regards eligible projects, the RFQ provides that these should not be less than 20% of the estimated Project Cost. In case of projects with an estimated Project Cost of Rs. 1,000 crores or above, this amount may be suitably reduced but not less than 10% in any case. Join discussion...

Traffic volume been growing about 12% a year with India's brisk economic growth, putting a huge strain on its still underdeveloped road network. But the country's road building program hasn't kept pace, leading to choked highways and potholed roads. Poor infrastructure takes at least two percentage points off growth in gross domestic product each year, economists say. Join discussion...

The World Bank’s deadline for suspension of a USD 620 million loan to the National Highway Authority of India, or NHAI, for the Lucknow Muzzafarpur national highway expired yesterday. Sources in the World Bank have told CNBC-TV18’s Vivian Fernandes that talks are on at the ministry level to extend the deadline, contingent on the NHAI making amends Join discussion...

The Government has awarded almost zero projects under the National Highway Development Programme between July and December this year, according to senior government officials. Furthermore, 66 per cent of the projects awarded by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) have not achieved financial closure till now. And with the global financial crisis adding to its woes, the NHAI is now wooing bidders as very few have come forward to submit proposal bids for the 23 new projects to be awarded by the close of the calendar year. Join discussion...

The government may switch over from build-operate-transfer (BoT) model to annuity model for the stretches of the National Highways Development Programme (NHDP) that have not received a good investor response. Join discussion...

The finance ministry’s Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee on Monday approved 21 national highway projects in 11 states, with a total estimated cost of about Rs 28,302.71 crore. Join discussion...

Under the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008, cleared by the Cabinet recently, a minimum toll fee of Rs 5 for car, jeep, van and other light motor vehicles; Rs 7.50 for light commercial vehicles, light goods vehicles or mini-bus; Rs 15 for truck or bus; and Rs 30 for oversized vehicles for using permanent bridge, bypass or tunnel whose cost of construction is above Rs 10 crore, has been imposed. Join discussion...

GMR Infrastructure announced on Wednesday that its subsidiary GMR Ambala Chandigarh Expressways (P) has inaugurated highway project at Chandigarh on December 10. This 35 km stretch on the National highway 21 and 22 (NH-21/22) was executed on BOT toll model at an investment of Rs 5 billion. The concession period for this project is 20 years and it took two and half years to complete. Join discussion...

The Delhi-Gurgaon stretch is operated by a consortium headed by DS Constructions Ltd while the Satara Kagal stretch was built by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation Ltd. The Jaipur-Kishangarh highway stretch is operated by a consortium headed by the GVK Group. Join discussion...