Walking off the highway

GMR Infrastructure’s move to exit from a contract for six-laning of a 555-km national highway stretch from Kishangarh in Rajasthan to Ahmedabad — and the GVK Group reportedly planning the same vis-à-vis a 330-km project connecting Shivpuri and Dewas in Madhya Pradesh — is a major blow to India’s ambitious plans of road building through the public-private-partnership (PPP) route. The blame here lies primarily with the Government, though it is true that in many cases, overleveraged balance sheets and inability to secure finance may have prompted the promoters themselves to wriggle out of projects.

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