Norms relaxed for working capital needs of road builders

01 Nov 2019 CW Team

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has reportedly decided to relax norms to release partial payment or a working capital advance to road and highway builders for the work they have carried out, even if the builder has failed to achieve the construction milestone set by the authorities. The move is aimed at improving the liquidity of builders and to help complete projects stuck due to a funding crunch.

As reported, the provision for the advance will be extended to all highway projects executed with 100 per cent government funding or EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) contracts as well as for projects under the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) mode. For contracts under the EPC model, the government releases the entire payment as and when a builder achieves the project milestones during construction. In the case of projects under the HAM mode, government agencies pay only 40 per cent of the cost during construction in five equal instalments. The remaining amount is released in 30 biannual instalments, which commences six months after the project is completed. As per a circular released by MoRTH on the norms relaxed, contractors availing this advance payment will have to pay the interest when the final payment is released, once the set milestone is achieved. For instance, NHAI or any other road owning agency can give the interest bearing working capital advance to the road builder even if it has completed only 5 km of a highway stretch against the set milestone of 10 km for release of payment.

Infrastructure Transport

01 Jun 2026

MMRDA advances 250 m on Orange Gate–Marine Drive tunnel

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has completed 250 m of underground tunnelling for the Orange Gate–Marine Drive Urban Road Tunnel using India’s largest slurry shield tunnel boring machine (TBM) deployed for an urban road project.The project involves twin tunnels extending over 7 km beneath critical transport corridors, including Central Railway, Western Railway and Metro Line 3. The work requires high-precision engineering to navigate densely developed urban infrastructure.Once completed, the tunnel is expected to reduce travel time between Orange Gate and Marin..

Hindustan Zinc Pays Rs 188.46 Billion in FY26

Hindustan Zinc contributed Rs 188.46 billion to the public exchequer in FY 2025-26, according to its 9th Tax Transparency Report. The contribution, equivalent to 46 per cent of the company’s revenue, included direct and indirect taxes, government royalties, dividends to the Government of India, withholding taxes and other statutory levies.The company’s five-year cumulative contribution to the exchequer stood at Rs 915.72 billion. In FY26, Hindustan Zinc reported revenue of Rs 408.44 billion, EBITDA of Rs 221.62 billion and profit after tax of Rs 138.32 billion. It also achieved its highest..

World of Concrete India 2026 Opens in Mumbai

Informa Markets in India will host the 12th edition of World of Concrete India 2026 from 3–5 June 2026 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai. The specialised B2B exhibition will bring together manufacturers, suppliers, contractors, developers, architects, consultants, infrastructure companies, project leaders and government stakeholders.The event is expected to feature over 350 brands and more than 18,000 trade professionals. It will cover concrete and cement, dry mortar, precast technologies, formwork, construction chemicals, industrial and commercial flooring, scaffolding, safety solutio..