Baalu presents 'negative grant' cheque to PM

New Delhi, Jan 5: Shipping, Road Transport and Highways Minister T R Baalu today presented a cheque for Rs. 471 crore to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as 'Negative Grant' from a project to upgrade the Vadodra-Bharuch Section of NH-8 to six-lane.

The project forms part of the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) Phase V.

The cheque was handed over to the Prime Minister in the presence of Mr Vijay Singh, Secretary, Department of Road Transport and Highways, Mr Pradeep Kumar, Chairman, NHAI, and the representatives of L&T Vadodara Bharuch Tollway Ltd, which has been awarded the contract for carrying out the work.

Opening a new chapter in the country's highway infrastructure modernisation programme, NHAI launched Phase V of the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) with the signing of an agreement to six-lane the Vadodra to Bharuch Section of NH-8 in July last year on the Build Operate Transfer (BOT) basis.

The Vadodara-Surat section will have a length of 155 Km on NH-8, which is being taken up for urgrading to six-lane under BOT in two contract packages.

The minister had earlier presented the 'Negative Grant' of Rs 504 crore for Bharuch-Surat Section to the Prime Minister on December 7 last year.

The agreement underlined a new high in Public Private Partnership (PPP) by setting a record in 'negative grant'.

UNI