NHAI To Invite Global Expertise for Developing Roadside Amenities Along New Highways

A new move is being considered with the aim of bringing global expertise to develop roadside amenities on National Highways. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has decided to change the process of developing roadside amenities along new highways and expressways. The responsibility of building these facilities will no longer be on road contractors and concessionaires. NHAI will now invite separate bids from companies interested in developing these facilities.

According to media reports, the aim behind this decision is to attract global expertise in creating Wayside Amenities (WSA) in India. NHAI aims to encourage innovative designs and products to increase the return on investment and improve the experience of highway users.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has set a target of setting up about 1,000 roadside amenities in the next five years. In which there will be one facility every 50 km on national highways.

Of these, 800 will be developed under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. NHAI will provide the land and necessary permissions, as well as monitoring, while the private company will be responsible for the development, operation and maintenance of the facility for a period of 15-30 years.

So far, only 198 WSAs have been awarded, and 162 are in the bidding stage. The government believes these WSAs will offer significant opportunities for investors, developers, operators and retailers, with an estimated return of up to 15-30% on an average capital investment of Rs 1-10 crore.

Among the amenities to be developed in each WSA will be fuel stations, electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, food courts, restaurants, dhabas, convenience stores, first aid or childcare rooms, medical rooms, dedicated areas to promote local artisans, drone landing facilities and even helipads at larger sites.

Earlier, highway contractors or concessionaires were tasked with the development, operation and maintenance of WSAs in addition to their primary road construction tasks.

The NHAI issued the guidelines on June 11. Which outlines the methodology for taking WSA construction work out of the purview of road contractors under various civil work modes such as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), hybrid annuity mode (HAM), and build-operate-transfer (BOT) mode.

Jagannathan Padmanabhan, senior director and global head, consulting, Crisil Market Intelligence & Analytics, said, "Separation of road construction and WSA functions will help in providing a lot of focus for WSA. This can lead to greater customisation and specialist companies such as oil marketing companies and experienced players in the hospitality sector may be interested in this."