With the signing of the 35-year concession agreement for the ambitious 1047-km-long Ganga Expressway project from Noida to Ballia, between the Jaypee Group and the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority, decks have been cleared to put the project on the fast track.
The group has opened offices in all the 16 districts, through which the expressway would pass and a nodal officer appointed in them all. Speaking to FE, Samir Gaur, director of the newly formed Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), Jaypee Ganga Infrastructure Corporation, said work has already begun on the technical and engineering front. “Our technical team is already working on finalising the design and the alignment of the project and will submit its project report soon. On the other hand, work on the land acquisition will start as soon as the alignment of the expressway is finalised. Once we know which villages and tehsils the expressway would cut through, we will start identifying the owners of the land and acquire it.”
Regarding the business plan of the company and as to how it is planning the financial closure of the project, which is to be submitted within nine months, Gaur said that this is not going to be an issue. “The important thing that banks see is whether the company is stable. While we have almost 48% equity within the group, around 35% is owned by the banks and FIIs. The valuation of the Taj Expressway project, in which ICICI Ventures is our lead bank, is in itself 25,000 crore. We do not foresee any problem in presenting our financial closure at the right time. Once we start land acquisition, banks will gain confidence in the project and come forward. There is no dearth of lenders these days if any project is viable,” he stated.
With the Ganga Expressway project touted to be the biggest investment in the road sector in the state so far, the industry is keeping a keen watch over Jaypee Group’s planning and strategy, while sealing and executing the project, which would link the most backward and poverty-ridden area of Uttar Pradesh with the national capital.
When asked from which end would work on the expressway commence first, Gaur said, “We will begin work simultaneously from all the 16 districts. The target of completing work in 4 years is very tough and we cannot afford to begin work in phases. For us, it is a 24×7 work schedule, which only can help us in finishing off at the expected time.”
It may be mentioned that the Jaypee Group, one of the 5 bidders who had come forward for developing the Ganga Expressway, had asked for minimum development rights.
They had also asked for minimum land for development: 30,000 acre, out of which 20,000 acre have been identified in Patiali tehsil in Etah itself, while the remaining 10,000 acre of land parcels have been identified in Allahabad, Mirzapur, Varanasi, Pratapgarh, Rae Bareli, Unnao, and Bulandshahr. “Almost 80% of the land along the expressway’s path is arid and barren, which is literally, of no use to the farmers. We do not think any farmer would not want to sell of wasteland and get a good compensation in lieu of it, as well as have development and its resultant fringe benefits at his doorstep,” added Gaur optimistically.