Cabinet approves amendments in TOT model and securitisation of national highway user fee receipts

The CCEA has accorded approval to the amendments proposed in the toll-operate-transfer (TOT) model by NHAI. As per the amendments, publicly funded national highway projects that are operational and have a toll revenue generation history of one year after the commercial operation date (COD) will be monetised through the TOT model. However, the monetisation will be subject to the approval of a competent authority in the MoRTH or NHAI on a case-to-case basis. The approval is expected to ensure a wider set of assets for monetisation, besides providing a more attractive model for investors. About 75 operational national highway projects have been identified for potential monetisation under the TOT model. The projects have been bundled into 10 separate bids to ensure economies of scale for the private sector. The corpus generated from the proceeds of project monetisation will be utilised by the government to fund the future development, O&M of highways in the country.