NHAI approves one-time fund infusion for Gurgaon-Jaipur highway project

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will make a one-time fund infusion of Rs 3.5 billion for the implementation of the six-laning project for the Gurgaon-Kotputli-Jaipur section of National Highway (NH)-8. Widening and maintenance work under the project had come to a standstill as the highway developer had no funds to carry out the expansion and the bankers too had stopped releasing funds. The project was awarded in February 2008 to a joint venture of Emirates Trading Agency LLC and KMC Construction Limited and construction work commenced in April 2009. The project involves six-laning of the existing four-lane 225.6 km Gurgaon-Kotputli-Jaipur section of NH-8 from km 42.7 to km 273, under Phase V of the National Highways Development Programme, in Haryana and Rajasthan, at a cost of Rs 32.99 billion. The project is now likely to be completed by December 2016. In October 2015, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had accorded approval for a one-time fund infusion to revive and physically complete languishing national highway projects under the extension of the provision available for converting build-operate-transfer (BOT) (toll) projects to BOT (annuity) projects.