French Company Vinci Highways to re-enter into India

Vinci Highways, the French company that exited India several years ago, is aiming to re-enter the country by potentially acquiring the Vindhyachal Expressway (VEPL), a 90-kilometre road project. Discussions are underway between Vinci Highways and VEPL's current owners, JMC Projects, a subsidiary of Kalpataru Power Transmission. Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) is also reportedly involved in talks to acquire VEPL.

The enterprise value of VEPL is estimated to be around Rs 2,000 crore. The project involves four-laning the section between Rewa in Madhya Pradesh and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh on NH-7. The concession agreement for this project was executed in 2012 for a duration of 30 years on a design, build, finance, operate, and transfer basis.

Despite significant traffic movement in the region, with a high proportion of commercial vehicles, a recent report by Care Ratings highlighted that around 79% of the toll road's traffic during FY22 consisted of commercial vehicles, which could make the revenue susceptible to economic downturns.