• Phase-I work on ORR to begin from February 2010.

Publication: Business Standard, Chennai
Date: August 13, 2009
Synopsis: The first phase of the Rs 864-crore outer ring road (ORR) on the outskirts of Chennai is expected to commence by February 2010. The project will be developed in public-private partnership.

• Programme to develop National Highways hobbles in slow lane.

Publication: Indian Express, New Delhi
Date: March 16, 2009
Synopsis: Caught in a web of arbitration, costly debt and equity, and repeated changes in the top management of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the UPA government’s flagship National Highways Development Programme (NHDP), has performed poorly.

• Cabinet okays Rs. 9,565 crore road projects.

Publication: Hindu Business Line, New Delhi
Date: February 27, 2009
Synopsis: The Government on Thursday approved infrastructure projects worth Rs 9,565 crore in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, entailing four-laning of National Highways in both States, and the development of a container terminal at Ennore Port.

• Highway projects that failed to attract bids may be restructured.
  

Publication: The Mint, New Delhi
Date: February 10, 2009
Synopsis: With its efforts to bid out highway stretches getting very little response from the private sector, the highways regulator is looking at “restructuring” projects which are not attracting any bids, an official said. The National Highways Authority of India, or NHAI, is drafting a cabinet note that will allow it—if it gets necessary approvals—to offer highway stretches under the so-called annuity mode.

• Highways sector poised at the crossroads.
  

Publication: The Financial Express, New Delhi
Date: December 30, 2008
Synopsis: The government has taken several measures for the highways sector over the last decade and several projects have been awarded to private developers through the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model on a tolling or annuity basis.

• Financial bidding for 60 highway projects may move fast.
  

Publication: Hindu Business Line, New Delhi
Date: November 5, 2008
Synopsis: The financial bidding process for 60-odd highway projects – for widening about 6,458 km of highways at an estimated cost of about Rs 60,000 crore – is likely to move ahead fast now. The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed the writ petition of road developers seeking deletion of the ‘competition-limiting’ clause in the bidding process, it is learnt.

• Cap on bidders for highways stays.
  

Publication: Financial Express, New Delhi
Date: November 4, 2008
Synopsis: Ending the controversy over the cap of the top five-six bidders for financial bidding of national highways projects, as prescribed in the model concession agreement for PPP projects approved by the government in December 2007, the Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed the plea of highway builders challenging the clause.  

• Coming: smooth ride to Meerut.
  

Publication: Hindustan Times, New Delhi
Date: September 8, 2008
Synopsis: Driving along the National Highway-58 from Delhi to Meerut will soon improve. The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to construct an elevated road in Modinagar, which will ensure a smooth passage to traffic through the industrial town of western Uttar Pradesh.

• MCD to invest Rs. 6.8 crore to improve major Delhi roads.
  

Publication: Economic Times, New Delhi
Date: August 12, 2008
Synopsis: Keeping the 2010 Commonwealth Games in mind, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will take up upgrading and strengthening of major city roads with an investment of Rs 6.8 crore.

• Approval for Rs. 10,507 crore worth highway projects.
  

Publication: Hindu Business Line, New Delhi
Date: August 12, 2008
Synopsis: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) can now initiate the process to invite bids for about Rs 10,500-crore worth projects with the Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC) approving 10 projects.

• Transport tops PPP investments in Karnataka.
  

Publication: Business Standard, Chennai
Date: August 8, 2008
Synopsis: Karnataka, one of the first few states to mainstream infrastructure projects through the public-private partnership (PPP) model, has succeeded in initiating around 100 PPP projects worth Rs 1 lakh crore in the last three years.

• Committee clears highway projects worth Rs. 12,000 crore.
  

Publication: Indian Express, New Delhi
Date: August 5, 2008
Synopsis: The Public Private Partnership project Appraisal Committee (PPPAC) on Monday cleared a slew of high value highway projects worth over Rs 12,000 crore. The 11 projects cleared on Monday were pending for approval for some time, with one project awaiting a go-ahead for nearly six years.

• Government approves Rs. 76.59 crore road projects in Orissa.
  

Publication: Business Standard, New Delhi
Date: August 5, 2008
Synopsis: The government today approved nine projects related to road improvement work in Orissa entailing cost of Rs 76.59 crore under the Central Road Fund Scheme.

• Four-laning of Trichy-Tindivanam by September.
  

Publication: Hindu Business Line, Chennai
Date: April 16, 2008
Synopsis: Four-laning of the Trichy-Thindivanam highway between Trichy and Chennai would be completed by September, said TR Baalu, minister for shipping and surface transport.  The project, with an outlay of Rs 1,260 crore comprises 14 major river bridges, four by-passes, 7 flyovers, 12 pedestrian underpasses, 9 railway over bridges, and 44 minor bridges.

• Delhi government approves 3-level grade separator on NH-4.
  

Publication: Economic Times, New Delhi
Date: April 9, 2008
Synopsis: The Delhi Government has approved the construction of a three-level grade separator at Ghazipur Crossing on NH-4. "The grade separator would consist of an eight-lane flyover, two foot over bridge and two pedestrian over bridges with an aim to facilitate smooth flow of traffic in the area," Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said.

• State agency offers "permanent" solution.
  

Publication: Mint, Bangalore
Date: April 9, 2008
Synopsis: Bumpy rides on Indian roads may soon be a thing of the past, if the Central Road Research Institute, or CRRI, has its way. The institute is compiling a report on its research on introducing perpetual roads— that last as long as 30 years without cracking—in the country. Perpetual roads are hugely popular in the US and China.

• Government mulls toll on 2-lane highways.
  

Publication: Pioneer, New Delhi
Date: March 24, 2008
Synopsis: The Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways is seriously considering introduction of toll on two-lane highways and a new concept of partial tolling. The Ministry had expected to cover 1,896km of highways for tolling in the 2007-2008 financial year.

• Ganga Expressway may hit GQ viability.
  

Publication: Indian Express, New Delhi
Date: March 24, 2008
Synopsis: Mayawati's grand project to build a Rs 25,000-crore, 850-km-long, eight-lane, access-controlled expressway along the banks of Ganga will adversely hit the viability of 200 km of the national Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) project.

• Government mulling India-Nepal border road construction.
  

Publication: Economic Times, New Delhi
Date: March 13, 2008
Synopsis: The Government is considering a proposal for construction of roads along the India-Nepal and India-Bhutan borders. The development of border roads would improve border infrastructure thereby leading to enhanced connectivity, promote cross-border economic integration and strengthening the development of the area.

• Move to collect toll on state highways.
  

Publication: The Hindu, Hyderabad
Date: March 13, 2008
Synopsis: A proposal is under consideration to introduce a toll policy after upgrading eight four-lane roads on State highways through the public-private partnership and build operate transfer scheme.

• Elevated expressway project gets boost as TN agrees to share cost.
  

Publication: Hindu Business Line, Chennai
Date: March 12, 2008
Synopsis: The Rs 1,468-crore Elevated Expressway project on the banks of River Coovum from Chennai port to Maduravoyal got a major boost with the Tami Nadu Government agreeing to share 50 per cent of the costs of land acquisition and rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R).

• Mega six lane projects in offing.
  

Publication: Hindu Business Line, New Delhi
Date: March 10, 2008
Synopsis: Construction companies eyeing the access controlled, six-lane expressway projects of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) are likely to get investment opportunities for at least four such projects spread over 495 km over the next few months.

• Rationalising fees in toll system not possible.
  

Publication: Economic Times, New Delhi
Date: March 8, 2008
Synopsis: Rationalisation of user charges on highways is not possible in an open toll system as monitoring of the distance traveled by the user is a difficult exercise, an official of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has said. "Present levy of cess is tied up for executing the NHDPs and Prime Minister Garam Sadak Yojana...The financing of NHDP will be affected if user's fee is discontinued unless the level of cess is increased," the MoSRTH official said.

• Quality roads are a need of the hour.
  

Publication: Business Standard, Chennai
Date: February 07, 2008
Synopsis: The total road density is 3.3 million km length across the country today. By 2001, it was supposed to complete 3.16 million km of roads comprising of the national and state highways. However, the shortfall was 66,000 km and 1.45-lakh km in national and state highways respectively. The country was lagging behind the target in construction of other types of roads too.

• Flyway to end nightmare.
  

Publication: Times of India, Delhi
Date: January 24, 2008
Synopsis: The RTR-Palam flyover will be inaugurated for the second time on Wednesday, this time officially, when the entire 27.7-km stretch of Delhi-Gurgaon access-controlled highway is thrown open to traffic.

• Gurgaon gets closer to Delhi.
  

Publication: Times of India, Delhi
Date: January 22, 2008
Synopsis: Haryana government is planning three more road links that will, along with recently finished Gurgaon-Delhi expressway, ease traffic between Delhi and Gurgaon. All three-link roads are proposed in the Gurgaon-Manesar Master Plan 2021 and have been aimed to provide the shortest alternate connectivity between the new growth centres of Delhi and Gurgaon.

• Inter-state road barriers may cost the economy Rs. 60,168 cr in 10 years.
  

Publication: Indian Express, Delhi
Date: January 03, 2008
Synopsis: The economic costs of barriers to inter-state movement of freight and passengers on Indian roads, if allowed to go unchecked, will increase to Rs 60,168 crore by 2017, reveals the Eleventh Five-Year Plan draft. These barriers include multiple checking by the police, the sales tax department, the transport department and excise & customs.