As toll collections remained buoyant, the government has so far transferred Rs 15,605 crore to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) as part of its share of user revenue. This si 75% of the amount the agency was estimated to get during the whole of the current financial year.
For FY24, the NHAI’s share from toll collections is expected to be Rs 20807 crore as against the revised estimates of Rs 180,05 crore in FY23.
The increasing collections has enabled transfer of three-fourth of the projected toll share for the full financial year in the first five months of the fiscal year and for the full year NHAI may end up getting more than what was estimated in the budget, official sources said.
Average monthly toll collection of NHAI during April-June of FY24 stood at Rs Rs 4,406 crore as against Rs 4083 crore in January-March quarter. In 2022-23 the average monthly toll collection of NHAI was Rs 3841 crore.
Overall toll collections at highways, which includes government-funded stretches and those run private concessionaires, touched Rs 48,028 crore in FY 23, up from 33,907 crore in the previous year.
NHAI gets around 37% to 40% of the total collections while around 50% is collected by private highway operators. The remaining flows to other highway building arms of the government – National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) and the Road Wing of the ministry of road transport and highways.
In the past two years, the government has taken on the full responsibility to fund NHAI’s debt servicing and future investment needs plans as the organisation’s debt mounted. However, with the ever increasing need for funds to drive the ambitious highway building programme, the government is banking on the rising toll revenues and asset monetisation to shoulder a larger part of the burden.
For this year NHAI has a capital investment target of Rs 1.62 trillion as against Rs 1.41 trillion last year. Barring Rs 20,807 crore from toll and Rs 10,000 crore from Monetisation of National Highways Fund, rest of the amount will come from the government’s coffers.
NHAI’s debt servicing cost is Rs 31714 crore which includes Rs 25489 interest and Rs 6225 principal repayment.
Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has said that the toll collection will touch Rs 1.3 trillion by 2030.Increasing traffic, addition to length of highways and periodic revision of toll rates will help get to that target.