Road projects may have foreign investors

The government plans to invest around Rs100,000 crore to build about 12,000 kilometres of roads this year with options to bring in foreign investors, union minister for road transport and highways Kamal Nath said yesterday.

''Road projects in the country require around Rs200,000 crore over the next three years for which we are considering innovative financing instruments that will fund road projects and attract domestic and foreign investors,'' Nath said on the sidelines of a summit on 'Building India: Road Infrastructure' in Mumbai.

''Our plan is to add roads at the rate of 20 km a day to India's existing road network of 34 lakh kilometers, he added.

''About 60 per cent of the projects would be on the toll-based revenue model while the balance would be on annuity and  engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) contract models'' he said, adding that the government is also trying to involve pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, equity funds besides other available investment channels.

He also said that the ministry of road transport and highways, along with ICICI Bank, is planning to conduct international road shows in Asia, Europe and the US to attract foreign investors.

''The government plans to invite bids for tolls, and is looking at options of setting up specialised tolling companies similar to that in advanced countries,'' Nath added.