IJM opens RM1.5 billion tollway in India

PETALING JAYA: IJM Corp Bhd has opened the RM1.5 billion SolapurBijapur tollway (pix) built by its Indian arm IJM (India) Infrastructure Ltd following the 20-year concession contract awarded from the National Highway Authority of India.

It elaborated that the concession is undertaken on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis, involving the rehabilitation and upgrading the existing two-lane to four-lane standards with bypasses and the construction of flyovers, bridges, road intersections, railway overbridges as well as the operation and maintenance of two toll plazas.

The group revealed that the provisional commercial operations of the road commenced in December 2021. It started the construction in November 2018 and was provisionally completed in 38 months.

In spite of the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the project was completed ahead of schedule.

To date, actual traffic volume and revenue are in line with projection, and the project has generated positive operational cash flows since tolling commenced.

IJM Corp CEO & managing director Liew Hau Seng commented that the timely completion of this project reaffirms its capabilities and track record as a builder of choice and high-performance concessionaire.

“Apart from providing earnings visibility and serving as a long-term growth driver that the completion of the Solapur-Bijapur tollway accords the group, we have played a role in expediting the improvement of infrastructure in the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka.

“With a stable of prominent projects completed in India in recent years, IJM India has emerged as a premier DBFOT specialist and have set standards for road construction in the country’s infrastructure sector,” he said in a statement yesterday.