Large scale infra projects should be privatised, suggests Amitabh Kant

NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has reportedly stated that the government must follow the model of countries like Australia and Canada by handing over infrastructure projects including jails, schools and colleges to the private sector. As per reports, his statement was accompanied by his criticism of the private sector as “insensitive” and “irrational”. Further, the NITI Aayog CEO was reported saying that the government is not appropriately managing and operating large-scale projects. Moreover, aggressive bidding has led to the creation of a lot of trouble in the public private partnership (PPP) model. To circumvent this crisis, the government must start ‘reverse BOT’ and let these big projects be privately run and maintained. Private sector in India could be roped in for various opportunities such as port construction and railway station re-development project. Reportedly, for Kant, the market is not short of money, and India can benefit by de-listing such projects and handing them over to the private sector. Reports also indicate that the Niti Aayog Chief thinks that there were huge opportunities for the private sector in India like station re-development projects, port construction and the Sagarmala projects. He suggests that these projects need to be marketed well, and even the freight corridor needs to be privatised. Despite suggesting mass privatisation of infrastructure projects, the private sector’s aggressive bidding has proven disastrous for PPP investment in the country, reportedly believes Kant, who suggests that they should have practised due diligence instead.