10-15% OF ROADS AND HIGHWAYS PROJECTS OF NHIDC ARE RUNNING RISK OF BAD VENTURE, SAYS ITS DIRECTOR (A&F)

Between 10% to 15% of National Highways’ & Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDC) roads and highways projects are turning out to be the bad performing ventures on account of contractors’ fault due to their inability to arrange for necessary working capital to initiate work on them, alleged its Director (A&F), Mr. Sanjay Jaju here on Thursday.

This is despite of the fact that such infrastructural projects have been awarded to various contractors in north eastern and other strategic areas of the country for building roads and highways with 90% completion of land acquisition formalities with eliciting firm commitment from them to finish off the projects well within the deadline, further declared Mr. Jaju.

Inaugurating a National Roads & Highways Summit 2017 under aegis of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry here today, Mr. Jaju claimed that NHIDC has been building roads and highways of around 2,000 km in multiple locations of north east and other bordering areas with strategic importance with an investment of Rs.35,000 crores.

“Though, most of such projects are progressing fairly well but 10% - 15% of them are suffering and even decaying purely for the fault of contractors because of their share lethargy in terms of raising the necessary working capital.  The corporation has already issued notices to non-performing contractors for the revival of such projects, failure to respond to the notices already served, the necessary punitive action might follow since working capital requirement is entirely the onus of the contractors and the corporation cannot fund this”, indicated Mr. Jaju hoping that the persuasive attempts of the corporation would yield desired results in terms of issuance of notices.

“Land acquisition is definitely an issue for building roads and highways in various parts of the country but the corporation such as ours, awards roads and highways projects to bidders only after 90% of land acquisition formalities are accomplished and therefore, those contractors that have generating working capital capacity should only come forward for winning roads and highways projects”, clarified Mr. Jaju.

In his welcome remarks, Sr. Vice President, PHD Chamber, Mr. Anil Khaitan also emphasized on criticalities of roads and highways for economic uplift of the country and particularly so when such projects are undertaken in bordering and strategic areas where the objective is to connect the country with its neighbours such as Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Bangladesh and the like.

Among others who also spoke on the occasion comprised Chairman, Raods, Ports & Other Infrastructure Committee, PHD Chamber, Mr. Ashish Mohan Wig and its

Director, Dr. Ranjeet Mehta.