An Indian procuring authority has switched the development format for two ropeway projects to the build, operate, transfer (BOT) model following market feedback, a senior official told Infralogic.

One of these is a 5.76km-long project connecting Brahmagiri to the Anjaneri hills at Nashik in Maharashtra state, estimated to cost INR 3.76bn (USD 44m). The other is of 1.4km and is proposed to connect Kamakhya railway station to the Kamakhya temple on the Nilachal hill in Guwahati, Assam.

The National Highways Logistics Management Limited initially tendered both in the hybrid annuity model, in which the government offers grant funding of 40% of the project’s cost, with the remainder to be arranged by the developer in a combination of equity and debt.

“Developers are keen to take up smaller projects of up to INR 40bn in the BOT model,” the official said, adding that he has annulled the tenders for the Nashik and Guwahati projects.

The equity investments are manageable for smaller projects, a potential bidder said, adding that it is also difficult to secure debt from banks for the larger ones.

Ropeways is a new segment for lenders as cable car systems are being built in India on this scale for the first time, he said.

The government introduced a national ropeways program in 2022 following a study by global consulting firm Mckinsey, which identified seven hilly states for the initial projects.

Earlier this month, the procuring authority invited bids from consultants to prepare detailed reports for about 50 ropeway systems following pre-feasibility studies of more than 100 potential projects, the official said.

The first 50 projects are planned to be tendered for development in the BOT model based on the delivery of the project reports, he said.

The National Highways Logistics Management Limited did not respond to a request for comment.

USD 448m ropeway PPP
Financial proposals for the 12.9km ropeway project between Sonprayag and Kedarnath in Uttarakhand state will be opened tomorrow, the official said.

The authority received six bids last week of which it has shortlisted five, and whose proposals will be opened, he said. He did not name the shortlisted companies.