New operator to take over Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway today, may introduce e-toll collection

The lenders’ consortium led by IDFC, which financed the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway toll project, has engaged Feedback Brisa Highways OMT, a joint venture of an Indian and a Portugese company, for the operation, maintenance and tolling of the 27.7-km expressway.

The lenders’ consortium led by IDFC, which financed the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway toll project, has engaged Feedback Brisa Highways OMT, a joint venture of an Indian and a Portugese company, for the operation, maintenance and tolling of the 27.7-km expressway. The company will take over the stretch from Thursday.

The-32-lane-toll-plaza-on-the-Delhi-Gurgaon-border-HT-Photo

Feedback Brisa, which comes with global experience of operating expressways, including the under-construction Pink City Expressway, has plans to introduce the hi-tech RFID (radio frequency identification) electronic toll collection system that it will use in the Pink City Expressway.

HT was the first to report in its February 1, 2013 edition that the maintenance and tolling operations would go to a Portuguese firm.

In February last year, when talk of this firm taking over the project was doing the rounds, IDFC had claimed that it would bring in “sky changes” in the commutation experience of frustrated commuters. It had said then that the major emphasis would be on switching over to the electronic toll collection system.

According to highly placed sources, the National Highways Authority of India has also approved Feedback Brisa as the e-way operator.

While the Indian partner in the venture is a leading firm in the infrastructure sector, the Portugese company, Venture Brisa Auto Estradas de Portugal, manages over 1,500 km of road assets in Portugal and the US, among others.