India’s Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) revises guidelines for build-operate-transfer (BOT) highway projects under the public-private-partnership (PPP) framework, enabling larger institutional investors to participate. According to reports, MoRTH allows sovereign wealth funds, infrastructure funds, pension funds and private equity firms to bid for BOT projects. Previously, similar large investors were restricted to toll, operate and transfer (TOT) projects.
The change is linked to difficulties in attracting bidders for earlier BOT tenders. Media reports state that four highway projects worth about Rs 22,000 crore failed to attract bids from private companies, with concerns raised about contract terms. MoRTH responds by issuing a modified request for proposal (RFP) document and relaxing norms for investments in these BOT projects.
Highways in India are executed through multiple models, including BOT, BOT (annuity), Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC), InvIT and hybrid structures. The revised BOT participation rules are intended to improve investor interest while keeping the projects within the PPP procurement process.
