The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is all set to announce incentive for successful contractors in the North-East, as apart from getting additional opportunity to grab projects in the plains, they will also get 40-50% bid enhancement facility in rest of the country. This has been aimed at resolving the issue of shortage of contractors for highways development in the North-East. Also, on the cards is a scheme to reserve a part of work for local contractors in the region. It may be recalled that Centre is pursuing ₹1,64,000 crore of highway projects in the North-East. Of the total, projects worth ₹31,000 crore (1,726 km) have already been awarded, but the pace of development is slow for various reasons, including shortage of contractors. At a recent meeting, the Ministry formed a committee to explore the opportunity to modify bid documents for highway projects, in this regard. Currently, there is no incentive for contractors for pursing projects in hilly and forested N-E States, which offers narrow weather window and suffer from law and order risks. The National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL) incorporated for highway construction in the NE, J&K, Uttarakhand, Himachal, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands, also proposed a scheme for developing local contractors. As per bid conditions, the winning contractor can sublet 70 per cent of the project work. NHIDCL proposes to reserve at least 30 per cent of the sublet work for local contractors as part of a vendor development strategy, said ministry sources.
