Highway toll collections to grow by 15% during July-September; claims research
Highway toll collections across India are expected to increase by 15% during the April-September period, compared to the April-June quarter of this financial year, claims India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) said in a research report.
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The growth expectations are fuelled by the recovery in the transportation sector on the back of reviving economic activity after the subdued April-May period.
According to the research, toll collections in Q2 FY22 is expected to reach the Q4 FY21 level, despite a nearing third wave. In April and May this year, toll collections across India dropped by 10% and 34% respectively. This was due to the devastating second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic when several states announced localised lockdowns to curb the spread of the virus.
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According to the report, cash flows will increase in this quarter due to adequate liquidity and recovery in traffic movement.
It also claims that average daily toll collections reached 38% in the third week of May 2021, after a slump of 17% in the last week of April. As the local lockdowns are easing across the states, the toll collection too will increase. The mobility sector is witnessing a revival across the country, with economic activity gradually coming back to normal.
According to union road and transport minister Nitin Gadkari, the highway toll collection in FY21 reached ₹34,000 crores. In the next three-four years, the toll collection is expected to reach up to ₹1.34 lakh crore, as he claimed. Meanwhile, Gadkari has said that the central government is planning to construct 60,000 km of world-class national highway by 2024.
