Anup Vikal, CEO, Maple Highways, has added to the company’s successes with the acquisition of the Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE) that encircles the National Capital Region (NCR). The 135 km, six-lane express highway has been in operation since 2018 and runs through the states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh down the eastern side of the NCR. All lighting and other utilities along the expressway are fully solar-powered. Valued at Rs 62.67 billion, the purchase of the Toll Operate Transfer (TOT) project from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is the largest road transaction to occur as part of the Union Government's Asset Monetisation Programme this year. EPE is India's first Intelligent Transport System (ITS) enabled road. It is equipped with a drip irrigation system and rainwater harvesting structures every 500 m. It has a closed loop tolling system and 99 per cent of its revenue is collected through electronic tolling, using the interoperable RFID tag, known to millions of drivers as FASTag.
