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National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) plans to award Rs 2.25 lakh crore worth of projects spanning around 5,000 km in the fiscal year 2021.

Previously, NHAI had granted Rs 1.71 lakh crore for 141 projects (4,788 km) in FY20. Shares of engineering procurement and construction (EPC) and hybrid annuity model (HAM)in the awards FY20 were 50 per cent and 49 per cent respectively.

The build, operate and transfer (BOT) model paved the way to just two projects. The project awards of FY21 could come to a total of 5,000 km with HAM expecting the biggest share of awards followed by EPC and BOT with a 5-10 per cent of the awards. BOT expects a hike in its popularity this fiscal year from its downfall in both FY19 and FY20.

NHAI chairman, Dr SS Sandhu mentioned that they do not consider money as a constraint for project awards and that the budget will exceed achievement from last year.

Presently, NHAI has been earmarked Rs 57,350 crore in the funds for FY22, from Rs 49,050 crore the previous fiscal year. The agency has also been allowed to borrow Rs 65,000 crore in FY22, the same as that in FY21.

The budget documents cite that NHAI could procure Rs 10,000 crore by monetisation of operational highway projects.

In order to propose at least Rs 5,100 crore through its first InvIT, the officials of NHAI have already submitted the expected documents to the market regulator SEBI. The shares of the toll-operate-transfer (TOT) model and fundraising through fixed toll would also be introduced along with this.

Advance from the monetisation programme which accounts for Rs 3 lakh crore, is utilised in paying debts of NHAI and to develop highways at the end of FY21.