The Andhra Pradesh state government had decided to privatize the Roads and Buildings Department Roads (R & B Roads) in the state. The government is working to hand over these roads to the contractors for maintenance.
The state government is planning to introduce a system on the lines of the National Highways Authority, which maintains its roads through the contractors. It allows the contractors to establish toll gates and collect toll fee from the vehicles.
Accordingly, the state government had decided to privatize 18 roads in the first phase and 68 roads in the second phase. The first phase 18 roads would cover 1,307 kilometers while the second phase 68 roads would cover 3,931 kilometers. In all the 86 roads to the length of 5,239 kilometers would be handed over to the private people.
The contractors would be allowed to open toll gates on the roads and collect the toll fee from the vehicles on the lines of the toll gates established on the national highways. The contractors would fix the toll amount in consultation with the state government.
The officials are now studying the movement of vehicles on these selected roads to fix the viability for the contractors. The first 28 roads would be handed over to the contractors by the middle of 2025.
The modalities are being worked out by the officials to hand over these roads to the contractors. The contractors would be responsible for the maintenance of the roads. They would relay the black top whenever the roads are damaged and cut bushes on the road margins for clear vision.
The contractors need not wait for the government permission to relay the roads whenever they are damaged. They would be free to lay them and maintain the roads as pothole-free.
