In its first major initiative on the urban infrastructure front, the Telangana government on Friday gave in principle approval for the construction of flyovers and junctions translating into 20 projects in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) area under the strategic road development programme in the first phase.

The government has given an administrative sanction for Rs 2,631 crore towards these projects.

The state also approved a public private partnership (PPP) model wherein the projects will be awarded for construction on a semi-annuity basis with a concession period of 10 years while payment will be made in 20 equal semi-annual installment, according to orders.

While the GHMC will have to make the annuity payments to the developers of these projects, the government will stand guarantee for the payment, the orders stated.

The first proposed action targeting the improvement of road transit system in Hyderabad comes after chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao stated earlier this year that a host of steps, including the construction of multi-level flyovers, would be taken up to enable smooth outflow and inflow of traffic on all roads connecting the city.

The government has stipulated a 2.5-year time line for the completion of these projects while it proposes to complete the entire tender process in 30 days.

It would allow joint venture with a maximum of three partners duly insisting for a minimum 26 per cent equity for each of the partner all the time till completion. The one with maximum equity in the project will be considered as the lead partner, the government said. The authorities will adopt State Bank of India (SBI)’s current base rate of 9.7 per cent as the discount factor to determine the net present value of the project.