A sigh of Covid relief: Toll and HAM projects may benefit

In FY2021, the Government of India announced various liquidity measures under ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ financial package. Soon after, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI, rated CARE AAA and Stable) followed the suit by announcing slew of measures for the road sector in a bid to boost liquidity for roads  developers against the backdrop of Covid 19 pandemic and resurrect investor confidence. These measures have been extended on a time-to-time basis by NHAI. On 1 July 2021, NHAI proposed to MoRTH to continue the benefits till 30 September 2021 in addition to grant of extension of time (EoT) under Covid-II. In CARE Ratings’ view, if the proposal is accepted, the likely extension of relief measures shall augur well for the road  developers of under-construction Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) projects primarily in terms of EoT for completion and additional time for achieving financial closure. Presently, the road developers or sponsors are entitled to these benefits under the Atmanirbhar Bharat package announced in FY2021. The proposed grant of extension of concession period for  operational toll road projects is in alignment with the existing provisions of Concession Agreement. On an overall basis, in CARE Ratings’ opinion such extension in concession period for toll projects shall be limited to about 20 days.