16,798-km national highways under PPP arrangement; 331 fee plazas operational now

A total length of 16,798.61 kilometres of national highways is under the public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement and 331 fee plazas are operational as of now, Parliament was informed on Thursday. In a written reply to a query to the Lok Sabha, Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said Rs 28,499.12 crore collected by fee plazas on national highways in 2021-22.

Replying to a separate question, Gadkari said there are 752 fee plazas operated by private operators on national highways.

There are two types of fee plazas - public-funded and concessionaire. The collection of the user fee at public-funded fee plazas is awarded to user fee collection agencies through competitive bidding for a period of one year or limited bidding for a period of three months.