Overview
- The road transport ministry revised BOT toll bidding norms on Monday, allowing AIFs, foreign funds and other investors to bid for PPP highway projects.
- These funds will be judged only on financial capacity at a threshold set at twice the usual level, while traditional builders must meet both technical and financial tests.
- Funds must name their proposed contractors for approval, and those firms must meet the qualification criteria in the bidding documents.
- The policy shift follows reports that four national highway BOT tenders worth about Rs 22,000 crore recently drew no bids.
- BOT deals require financing, building and operating a road for 20–30 years, unlike TOT sales of finished assets, so it remains unclear how funds will structure participation or how much interest they will show.