NEW DELHI: Government has now allowed venture capital, private equity, infrastructure and pension funds to bid for highway projects under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, marking a paradigm shift since the sector was opened to private players in the early 2000s. So far, only highway developers and construction companies were eligible to bid for such projects.The road transport ministry has modified the bidding conditions for Build-Operate-Transfer (Toll) projects, as part of its efforts to attract greater private investment into the sector. Officials said Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) and Foreign Investment Funds (FIFs), with their deep pockets, are expected to bring in better construction firms for project execution, while ensuring better return on investment in highway projects.Typically, these entities come with finances with pension and infrastructure funds providing long-term capital. It remains to be seen how much interest is there from the funds and how they structure the deals.The modified bidding document notified by the highways ministry said, “Bidder may be a natural person, private entity, govt-owned entity, AIF, FIF or any combination of them with a formal intent to enter into a joint bidding agreement to form a consortium.”
