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.

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.

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.