50 highway projects hit eligibility roadblocks, thanks to RFQ

Not even a single road project under the mega National Highways Development Programme phase-III (NHDP-III) has been awarded so far even after almost eight months of the new request for qualification (RFQ) document being cleared by the Prime Minister’s Committee on Infrastructure. As a result over 50 highway projects covering a stretch of around 6,000 km under NHDP-III have been delayed.

The reason being objections raised by the highways developers on certain eligibility criteria mentioned in the new RFQ like the changes introduced in the bidding parameters among others. The developers have even dragged the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the Planning Commission and the expenditure department of finance ministry to the court over the issue.

Planning commission officials, however, feel that as the RFQ has been cleared by the PM’s committee on infrastructure after being cleared ministry of finance, it leaves very little room for someone to have any objection to the changes made.

The official pointed that though the new RFQ was approved way back in December 2007, the NHAI had shortlisted just about eight private players for eight stretches under NHDP-III whereas the phase has about 50 projects to be undertaken. That too, the NHAI took more than the stipulated time of two months to do the shortlisting. Most of the shortlisting was done after five-six months of the RFQ being approved.

According to the norms, the shortlisting of players is to be done within two months of the announcement of the RFQ, but NHAI took more than five months to do the shortlisting.

?The pace at which they (NHAI) are proceeding simply speaks of their interest. The request for proposal (RFP) has to be done within three days announcement of the shortlisting. It does not look like the NHAI has done that abiding the norm,? the official said.

The shortlisting for the Pimpalgaon-Nasik-Gonde stretch of 60km on NH-3 was done in July, seven months after the RFQ was cleared in December 2007. Same is the case for the MP/Maharashtra border-Dhule project covering 97 km also on NH-3.

Under NHDP-III about 12,109-km of roads connecting places of social and economic significance are to be four-laned with an investment of over Rs 55,000 crore on the build-operate-transfer (BoT) basis. In 2007-08, against a target of awarding concessions for 3,278 kms, there has been a meagre 9% achievement, with contracts being awarded for just 278 kms.

The major issue stalling the highway projects has been the cap on the number of pre-qualified applicants who can participate in the financial bid for any infrastructure project that has been fixed at five-six. Further, the candidates would be short-listed on the basis of a ‘point system’ where only the top players with maximum experience in fields such as ports, roads, power and airports will be allowed to submit final bids for a project.