Ahmedabad: A major highway project proposed in Gujarat has hit a roadblock after the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) reportedly failed to receive any bids for its construction under the Built-Operate-Transfer (BOT) toll model. The project involves a 105.8-km six-lane access-controlled highway connecting Sanchore–Tharad–Deesa–Mehsana–Ahmedabad and is estimated to cost ₹3,739.69 crore.

The project was part of multiple highway packages worth ₹18,884.69 crore across Gujarat and Maharashtra, for which NHAI had invited bids under the BOT toll model. However, tenders for these projects received no participation from private developers, even after the deadlines were extended several times.

This package alone has a design length of 105.8 km, forming nearly half of the proposed 214-km Tharad–Deesa–Mehsana–Ahmedabad National High-Speed Corridor, which received Union government approval in August 2024.

The poor response is being seen as a setback to NHAI’s efforts to revive the BOT toll model, which had earlier fallen out of favour due to risks related to land acquisition delays, environmental clearances, and uncertainty in toll revenue. Developers are also said to have raised concerns about the limited time given for project evaluation.

Under the BOT model, private companies finance, construct, and operate highways, and recover their investment through toll collection for a fixed period.

Experts say that unless project risks are reduced further, attracting private investment in large infrastructure projects, including key highway corridors, may remain challenging. DeshGujarat