In a recent meeting with road developers, the NHAI chairman and board members said a number of stretches on NHDP III and V can be left at two lanes in order for investment required from developers to come down under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) mode. However, this may require changes to the model concession agreement (MCA) as it only provides for four- and six-laning, according to government officials.

“The idea was floated in a meeting earlier this week and developers agreed in principle to the notion. However, two-lane highways are not as safe as four- and six-lanes as they do not have the median divider, which prevents head on collisions,” a private developer who did not wish to be quoted told The Indian Express.

The average cost of construction for a four-lane highway is about Rs 5-7 crore per kilometre. “This could be avoided on stretches with low traffic. Four-lane roads can be allowed to merge into the lean traffic two-lane highways,” official sources said.

The NHAI seems to have divided the country into two zones for this kind of re-engineering. The east zone lies on the right side of a line joining Kashmir to Kanyakumari and vice versa for the west zone. “The west zone has huge patches of industrial activity and traffic is dense. It is on the eastern side this kind of re-engineering can take place,” the source added.

Other issues raised include the termination clause in the contract as per which, if the traffic exceeds a certain percentage for three consecutive years on a highway, the developer is barred from collecting toll. But, if the project runs into losses, the government does not share the burden with the private developer. According to developers , the NHAI has indicated that the loss is a part of the business and the government would not be able to share it.

Road to cost cutting

• NHAI says stretches on NHDP III and V can be left at two lanes in order for developers’ investment to come down

• This may require changes to the model concession agreement (MCA) as it only provides for four- and six-laning

• However, two-lane highways are not as safe as four- and six-lanes as they do not have the median divider