NHAI will provide 'world-class' roadside facilities on National Highway, will attract global experts

A new step is being considered with the aim of bringing global expertise to develop roadside facilities on National Highways. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has decided to change the process of developing roadside facilities along new highways and expressways. The responsibility of building these facilities will no longer be on road contractors and concessionaires. NHAI will now invite separate bids from companies interested in developing these facilities.

According to media reports, the goal behind this decision is to attract global expertise in creating Wayside Amenities (WSA) in India. NHAI aims to encourage innovative designs and products to increase the return on investment and improve the experience of highway users.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways aims to set up about 1,000 roadside amenities in the next five years, with one facility every 50 km on national highways.

Of these, 800 will be built using the public-private partnership (PPP) model. The NHAI will provide land, necessary permissions, and monitoring, while the private company will be in charge of the facility's development, operation, and maintenance for 15-30 years.

So far, only 198 WSAs have been awarded, with 162 in the bidding process. The government believes that these WSAs will provide significant opportunities for investors, developers, operators, and retailers, with a potential return of 15-30% on an average capital investment of Rs 1-10 crore.

Among the amenities to be developed in each WSA will be fuel stations, electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, food courts, restaurants, dhabas, convenience stores, first aid or childcare rooms. This also includes medical rooms, dedicated areas to promote local artisans, drone landing facilities, and even helipads at large sites.

Earlier, highway contractors or concessionaires were tasked with developing, operating, and maintaining WSAs in addition to their primary road construction works.

The NHAI on June 11 issued guidelines outlining the methodology for withdrawing WSA construction work from the purview of road contractors under various civil work modes such as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), hybrid annuity mode (HAM), and build-operate-transfer (BOT) mode.

Jagannathan Padmanabhan, senior director and global head, of consulting, Crisil Market Intelligence and Analytics, said, "Separating road construction and WSA functions will help in bringing a lot of focus to WSA. This can lead to more customization and specialist companies such as oil marketing companies and experienced players in the hospitality sector may be interested in it."