Andhra Pradesh's Bold New Strategy to Fix Highways Forever
The government of Andhra Pradesh is introducing a new Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model for road maintenance.
Vehicular movement on national highways in the state will be smooth. There will be no potholes on the highways.
A new BT (bituminous) layer will be laid every five years. The maintenance of these highways will be managed by a monopolist. The government plans to extend this system to many Roads & Buildings (R&B) roads in the state.
Under this plan, a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) system will handle road maintenance.
Currently, when potholes appear due to rain, the government has to wait for funds to fix them. The same happens for renewing roads every five years or clearing weeds. In the new system, the monopolist will take care of all these tasks.
The first phase will focus on 18 high-traffic state highways. The second phase will include 68 more roads. A feasibility study is being done on 1,307 km of roads in phase one and 3,931 km in phase two.
Consulting firms have been hired to prepare a report on these roads.
The study will look at traffic levels, future growth, and toll collections (excluding two-wheelers, autos, and tractors). It will also calculate how much the government will need to pay the monopolist under the viability gap funding system.
