Patna Bakhtiarpur Tollway Limited

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In December 2010, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) awarded a 20 year concession (including construction period of 30 months) to a consortium of BSCPL Infrastructure Limited (BSCPL) and C&C Constructions Limited, for the strengthening,improvement, 4-laning, operation and maintenance of 50.6kms of Patna-Bakhtiarpur section and of National Highway-30 (NH-30) in the state of Bihar. Under the contract, the consortium was responsible for the design, construction, finance, operation and maintenance and strengthening of the existing carriageway to a 4-lane highway with paved shoulders. The scope includes strengthening & maintenance of existing carriageway including construction of 3 railway-over-bridges, 8 major bridges, 36 minor bridges and 16 vehicular/pedestrian underpasses,etc.The project will be undertaken in 2 phases. Four under passes will be constructed at a distance of 1.30 kilometre within the city to ensure smooth flow of traffic.The expansion project, a part of National Highway Development Project Phase -III, would help in decongesting the capital city of Patna by diverting the traffic from the existing bypass road. The consortium of BSCPL Infrastructure Limited (50% equity) and C&C Constructions Limited (50% equity),established a special purpose vehicle, Patna Bakhtiarpur Tollway Limited (PBTL),to implement the project. The SPV won the tender through competitive bidding, conducted by NHAI,by quoting the lowest upfront subsidy from NHAI of US$24.1mn (INR 1134mn @47 INR/USD).Under the contract, the SPV was to recover the capital costs and operating costs including returns through tolling during the term of concession.PBTL had entered into a lump-sum fixed-price EPC Agreement with BSCPL and C&C to undertake the EPC activity. The project attained financial closure on 16th November 2011.The grant/debt/equity ratio of the project was 11.1/66.7/22.2. The estimated capital cost of the project at the time of financial closure was US$ 217.3mn (INR 10214.2 mn @ 47 INR/USD) million. Apart from the NHAI subsidy, financing comprised INR 6810.2mn 15year term loan,and INR 2270mn sponsor equity. The debt was arranged by Axis Bank.The participating banks were Axis Bank (1010.2mn),Allahabad Bank (750mn), Bank of India (550mn),Central Bank of India (750mn),IIFCL (750mn),State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur (500mn),State Bank of Hyderabad (750mn),State Bank of Mysore (500mn),State Bank of Patiala (750mn). Construction on the project began in September 2011 and was expected to be completed by March 2014.