Delhi-Mumbai Expressway to generate Rs 1,000-1,500 crore revenues every month
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will rake in annual toll income to the tune of Rs 1.40 lakh crore in the next five years.
The Union minister Nitin Gadkari has said that the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will generate Rs 1,000 to 1,500 crore every month as revenue, once it becomes operational in 2023. Gadkari referred to the state-owned NHAI as a gold mine for being a source of income. ” The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will rake in annual toll income to the tune of Rs 1.40 lakh crore in the next five years from the current level of Rs 40,000 crore,” Gadkari added. By March 2023, Delhi-Mumbai Expressway will likely get completed. It forms a part of the first phase of the ‘Bharatmala Pariyojana’.
The highway will reduce the travel time between Delhi and the country’s financial hub from nearly 24 hours to 12 hours. It is an eight-lane expressway that will cover Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. NHAI has received ‘AAA’ rating and all its road projects are productive. This comes at a time when there are concerns about it being burdened with a high level of debt. The ratings depict a strong financial hold and are one of the highest credit ratings.
Gadkari said, “NHAI was not in a debt trap, and it will never be in a debt trap in the future. It is a gold mine, and is on strong footing… in the next five years, NHAI’s toll income will rise to Rs 1.40 lakh crore per year from current toll income of Rs 40,000 crore.”
The total borrowings of NHAI increased to Rs 3,06,704 crore at the end of March 2021. It was Rs 74,742 crore in March 2017.
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