Delhi-Mumbai expressway SPV gets AAA rating

17 Mar 2021 CW Staff

The National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) fully owned special purpose vehicle (SPV), DME Developers Ltd (DMEL), has received AAA rating from CRISIL, CARE and India Rating. The SPV is executing the Delhi-Mumbai expressway project.

Through the SPV, NHAI has planned to diversify its resource base and develop a project specific sustainable and self-liquidating approach to raise finances.

Delhi-Mumbai expressway is a flagship greenfield project under ‘Bharatmala Pariyojna’. The project is being executed under 48 sub-projects, out of which 17 are Hybrid Annuity Model projects (Vadodara-Mumbai segment) and 31 are under EPC Model (Delhi-Vadodara segment).

Of these 48 sub-projects, 27 are under construction, 17 are awarded and work is yet to start, and the rest are under process for awarding. The project is scheduled for completion by March 2023, with one of the stretches to JNPT getting completed by September 2023.

The total estimated cost of the greenfield project is about Rs 87,500 crore including land acquisition cost of about Rs 20,600 crore. Expenditure other than land acquisition during construction period will be about Rs 53,849 crore, to be funded through Rs 48,464 crore debt and equity of about Rs 5,385 crore from NHAI, with debt equity ratio marked at 9:1.

For the project, DMEL’s role will be limited to housing the debt and servicing thereof. For the debt, NHAI is extending a letter of comfort to lenders. The concession agreement, implementation agreement and letter of comfort have been finalised.

Annuity payments to DMEL will be structured to enable timely servicing of debt and other incidentals. NHAI plans to form similar SPVs for other high value highway and expressway projects.

Written from a company news release.

Image source

Infrastructure Transport

30 May 2026

Chembur Metro to Boost East Mumbai Links

MMRDA is advancing eastern Mumbai’s urban mobility network, with the upcoming Chembur Metro Station set to emerge as a key interchange and the Mumbai Monorail preparing for relaunch.Dr Sanjay Mukherjee, Metropolitan Commissioner, MMRDA, conducted a site visit to Chembur Metro Station along with Kanhuraj Bagate, Managing Director, MMMOCL. He also visited the nearby VN Purav Monorail Station to review system preparedness and ease of interconnectivity.Once operational, the interchange is expected to offer commuters across the eastern suburbs quicker access, smoother transfers and seamless conne..

Herrenknecht TBMs Drive Thane–Borivali Tunnel Progress

Herrenknecht India has supplied two of the four tunnel boring machines (TBMs) required for the 11-km Thane–Borivali Twin Tunnel Project being developed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). The project is expected to reduce travel time between Thane and Borivali from 60–90 minutes to around 15 minutes while easing congestion across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.The first two Single Shield TBMs, named Nayak and Arjuna, feature 13.34-m cutterhead diameters and are designed for hard-rock excavation. They will be deployed to tunnel through the challenging geological..

KBL Launches Smart Skid Mounted Fire Pump Set

Kirloskar Brothers (KBL) has launched its Smart Skid Mounted Fire Pump Set, an integrated fire protection solution designed to improve operational efficiency, remote monitoring and installation flexibility. The system was inaugurated by Ms Madhuritai Misal, Hon. Minister of State for Urban Development, Government of Maharashtra.The Smart Skid Mounted Fire Pump Set is a factory-tested, pre-packaged solution that combines FM/UL-certified motor and engine pump sets with IoT-enabled remote monitoring. Designed to deliver a flow rate of 170 m³/hr at a head of 100 metres, the system aims to provide..