The National Highways Authority of India plans to invite bids for 60-70 projects in the current financial year for construction of 7000-8000 km of highways.
“For the entire financial year (2009-10), we are looking at about 60-70 projects that we will be able to put out and get awarded, which means we are talking of about 7000-8000 kms of projects that will be bid out,” NHAI Member-Finance A Didar Singh told a news channel.
He also said that with the interest rates coming down in the country, private companies are showing more interest in bidding for roads and highways projects.
“We have lower cost of financing now available in the market and this is being reflected in the fairly large amount of interest in the new projects that we are putting out. We have a larger number of Expressions of Interest for the projects we are putting out now,” Singh said.
He said that there was “aggressive” response from private companies for the highway projects in the beginning for the last fiscal but their sentiments weakened after the cost of financing went up in the wake of the global meltdown later.