One-time nod to let road builders bid for multiple works

NEW DELHI: In a move which will save time and paperwork for road developers, the government is considering a proposal to allow a developer, who is once recognised as being qualified for the bidding process for a particular project, to bid for other projects as well without going through the qualification process again. As per the proposal, the eligibility will be valid for a one-year period.

���The BK Chaturvedi committee has recommended that developers, who have once been qualified for any road project, need not go through the `request for qualification��� process every project that they may want to bid for. The matter is currently under consideration of the Prime Minister���s committee on infrastructure,��� a senior official in the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) said.

Developers are currently required to apply for qualification every time they bid for a new project under national highway development programme (NHDP).

The developer would be considered qualified for a maximum of one year, the official added. ���The move would help us save time and manpower cost. Every time a bid for a project is invited, we have to submit annual report and other financial details. If the government invites bids for 50 projects in a year and we show interest in the project we have to submit RFQ for each projects,��� Reliance Infrastructure CEO (Roads Business) Sudhir Hoshing said.

It takes National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), the apex highway development agency in the country, almost a month to complete the first stage of bidding. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had earlier set up a panel under the chairmanship of Planning Commission member BK Chaturvedi to suggest ways to implement road projects faster and more efficiently.

The government has set a target of building 7,000 kms of road annually or 20 kms a day. In order to enhance the pace of highway development in the country it has proposed to relax the existing bidding rules.

The BK Chaturvedi committee has also recommended some changes in viability gap funding (VGF) besides relaxing the exit clause. The proposed change in exit clause will allow private players to exit from the project once works are complete.

���The panel has said that the two VGF components, equity grant and the fund released during operation and maintenance (O&M), should be merged and be made part of the model concession agreement,��� the official said.