Gadkari calls for making HAM for highways construction flexible, market driven

New Delhi: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday suggested that the construction of highways under the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) could be made more flexible and market-driven to ensure timely completion.

Currently, under HAM, the government provides 40 percent of the project cost to developers to start work, while the remaining investments are made by the developers.

"I believe that infrastructure should be developed by the contractors," Gadkari said while speaking at an event here.

The road transport and highways minister explained that under HAM, 40 percent of the project cost is provided by the government and the remaining by the contractor.

"Why should the government always provide 40 percent even if the contractor is willing to invest more than 60 percent of the project? What is needed is completion, and the proposals should be market-driven," he added.

Gadkari also noted that total toll collection in India would rise by at least ?10,000 crore after implementing the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-based electronic toll collection.

Total toll collection in India reached ?64,809.86 crore in 2023-24, marking a 35 percent increase over the previous year, surpassing government and industry estimates as commercial traffic surged.

Earlier this month, state-owned NHAI invited expressions of interest from around the world for implementing GNSS-based electronic toll collection to provide a seamless and barrier-free tolling experience on National Highways.

The move aims to eliminate physical toll booths on highways.

NHAI plans to implement the GNSS-based electronic toll collection (ETC) system within the existing FASTag ecosystem, initially using a hybrid model where both RFID-based ETC and GNSS-based ETC will operate simultaneously.

Gadkari also suggested that state transport buses should be exempted from paying tolls on highways.