Gurgaon expressway operator sends NHAI proposal for exit

DGSCL operates the expressway and IDFC is the leader of the consortium that has lent to the project.

Commuters using the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway may soon have a hassle-free ride, if the road transport ministry approves the proposal of the expressway operator to completely exit the project. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Friday received a proposal from Delhi Gurgaon Super Connectivity Ltd (DGSCL) and Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) seeking complete exit of DGSCL from the project and takeover by IDFC.

DGSCL operates the expressway and IDFC is the leader of the consortium that has lent to the project. A source in NHAI confirmed that they have received the proposal but added that no decision has been taken yet. “We will now forward the proposal to the road transport ministry and this proposal will only be considered by us after the ministry approves it. The proposal will also require approval from the NHAI board,” the source said.

He added that the NHAI board had already approved a proposal from IDFC allowing it to acquire 74 per cent in the project in May last year. “Nothing much has moved on it yet and we get a new proposal,” he added. The current proposal offers to remove the 32-lane toll plaza between Delhi border and Gurgaon, which would ensure a hassle-free ride between Delhi and Gurgaon.
The offer of complete exit DGSCL has come at a time when the NHAI and roads ministry have been pressuring the expressway operator and IDFC to find a solution to the problems being faced by the commuters on that stretch.

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NHAI had conducted a forensic audit to prove that the toll operator was fudging revenues. The roads ministry had alleged that the IDFC-led consortium had refinanced the project without getting mandatory approval from NHAI and refused to recognise them as lenders, thus, risking their exposure to the project.

The project has a debt of Rs 1,600 crore funded by a consortium of nine bankers led by IDFC. If the toll plaza at the Delhi border is removed, the consortium would have to recover their dues from the revenues at the second toll plaza at Kherki Dhaula. Users travelling up to Kherki Dhaula would then have to bear the cost for using the entire stretch of the expressway. This proposal may also be discussed in the Delhi High court on Monday when it hears the highway authority’s termination notice to DGSCL.