Haryana to find way to push forward stalled Western Peripheral Expressway project within a month

NEW DELHI: Facing criticism for inordinate delay in the completion of Western Peripheral Expressway (WPE) or KMP expressway, which is one half of the ring bypass around Delhi, Haryana government on Monday made a commitment to the Centre to find a solution to the stalled project in the next one month. Sources said the options being weighed are replacing the present concessionaire and to undertake the remaining construction work under government funding mode.

Blaming the earlier government for not pushing forward the project, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that completion of the stalled project is one of the priorities of the new state government. "We will have another round of meeting and consultation to solve the issue," he said after over an hour long meeting with road transport minister Nitin Gadkari and top functionaries in the ministry.

Sources said that the outstanding debt of about Rs 1,300 crore provided by a consortium of banks to this 135 km project has become the biggest problem for Haryana government. "It's clear that the present concessionaire cannot complete the project and the company has to be replaced. But we have to address how the banks can get back their investment," said one of the officials who was present in the meeting.

He added one option discussed was to take over the project and build it with government funding. "The toll amount that would be collected can be used to pay back to the banks. Even if the banks would have brought in a new concessionaire, which they are entitled to in a PPP project, they would have got the revenue from toll collection," said a government source.

Officials said that National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has also offered to take over the project, if Haryana government wishes so.

Haryana government is likely to place a plan before the Supreme Court to restart the project in the first week of January. Before the last assembly election, the Haryana government, the present concessionaire and bankers had worked out a solution to bring in a new player. But it could not be formalized because of the code of conduct kicking in.