(Image source from: Timesofindia.indiatimes.com)

Telangana Government To Privatize ORR:- The HMDA proposed the Telangana government to offer the Outer Ring Road on a long-term lease for a period of 20 to 30 years. The lease will be given to a private agency and the expected amount would be in between Rs 4000 crores and Rs 6000 crores. Eagle Infra India Limited is currently collecting the toll charges of Outer Ring Road every month and they are remitting Rs 24 crores to the HMDA. The remittance was Rs 351 crores for 2019-20 and Rs 310 crores for 2020-21. The amount is Rs 421 crores for the last financial year. The bidding process for privatizing the Outer Ring Road will be made soon. HMDA will retain a Transaction Adviser (TA) for the preparation of the documents. The TA will be responsible for the account traffic and revenue projections along with the maintenance, cost of operations and the improvements.

The road safety features along with others will have to be taken care. The agency will collect the toll fees and will ensure the safety measures and traffic management. The repair infrastructure and maintenance costs will have to be borne by the agency. The outer ring road is spread across 158 km and is constructed at a cost of Rs 6696 crores in three phases. For 20 years, the expected lease is Rs 4000 crores and if it is for 30 years, the expected lease is said to be Rs 6000 crores. To generate more revenue, HMDA is in plans to lease out the Outer Ring Road. An official announcement for the same will be made soon.