The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has decided to adopt the Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) mode for National Highways which are not viable on PPP basis. The 12th Five Year Plan envisages construction of 20,000 km of 2-lane National Highways projects through EPC mode.

The Government has adopted the EPC mode of construction to ensure implementation of projects to specified Standards with a fair degree of certainty relating to cost and time and with a view to enabling a transparent, fair and competitive roll out of National Highway projects.

The EPC mode is different from the conventional Item Rate Contracts. Experience has shown that such contracts are prone to excessive time and cost over runs. The EPC mode assigns the responsibility for investigation, design and construction to Contractors for a lump sum price awarded through competitive bidding, wherein provision for index based price variation is made.

As per this initiative, training programmes on the EPC mode of construction for the officials of the State PWDs, shall also be organised in all the States alongwith the review meetings. It is envisaged to impart training to the officials concerned, consultants as well as contractors on the implementation of projects to specified standards with certainties relating to cost and time and also on sound contractual framework for allocating risk and rewards equitably between Government and the contractor.

The chief engineers concerned of the Ministry shall be the nodal officers for organizing these programmes as per the schedule. The participants shall also include senior officers of the Ministry, including those of the Transport Wing and the NHAI.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has also decided to conduct critical review meetings of the National Highway works, in the respective States. The new initiative has been adopted to resolve the hindrances in the construction of National Highways on a fast track and to ensure seamless construction of National Highways in the country.