India's Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, inaugurated the 110-kilometre Solapur-Bijapur tollway constructed by IJM (India) Infrastructure Ltd at a ceremony in Maharashtra's Solapur on Monday. IJM Corporation Bhd has achieved a milestone with the highly expected opening of the Solapur-Bijapur tollway constructed by its Indian arm, IJM (India) Infrastructure Ltd. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) awarded a 20-year concession contract to IJM India to create the Solapur-Bijapur section of the new National Highway 52 between the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. Reserve money (RM) 1.5 billion, the four-lane tollway was the largest Indian project undertaken by IJM in value and one of the largest contracts awarded by NHAI on a design, build, finance, operate, and transfer (DBFOT) basis. The project includes the upgrading, rehabilitation, and widening of the existing two-lane carriageway to four-lane standards with bypasses and the building of flyovers, road intersections, bridges, railway overbridges, and the operation and maintenance of two toll plazas. Chief executive officer and managing director Liew Hau Seng said the achievements and timely fulfilment of the project reaffirmed the group's abilities and track record as a builder of choice and high-performance concessionaire. Apart from providing earnings visibility and functioning as a long-term growth driver that the fulfilment of the Solapur-Bijapur tollway accords the group, the company is proud to have played a role in expediting the advancement of infrastructure in Maharashtra and Karnataka. With a stable of major projects achieved in India in recent years, IJM India has emerged as a premier DBFOT specialist and has set benchmarks for road construction in the country's infrastructure sector. Currently, IJM India operates three tolled highways in India — the 68-kilometre Chilkaluripet-Vijayawada tollway, Solapur-Bijapur tollway, and 19.8 kilometre-Dewas Bypass tollway. Since 1998, IJM India has delivered several significant road projects totaling more than 1,500 route kilometres along with 20 kilometres of urban rail projects and 20.20 million sq ft of premium residential and commercial development in India. Image Source Also read: Gadkari inaugurates 10 NH projects of 292 km in Solapur