The road transport ministry has revised the bidding conditions for build-operate-transfer (toll) projects as part of its efforts to attract more private investment in the sector. Officials said the Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) and Foreign Investment Fund (FIF), with their deep pockets, are expected to bring in better construction firms for project execution, ensuring better returns on investment in highway projects.Typically, these institutions come with finance, with pension and infrastructure funds providing long-term capital. It remains to be seen how much interest there is from funds and how they structure deals.“The bidder may be a natural person, private entity, government-owned entity, AIF, FIF or any combination thereof, which has a formal intention to enter into a joint bidding agreement to form a consortium,” the revised bid document notified by the highways ministry said. Highway builders and construction companies will continue to bid for such projects as well.The document also outlines different criteria for evaluating bids submitted by alternative funds and traditional highway developers. For highway construction firms, eligibility will be assessed on the basis of both technical and financial capability. However, for AIFs and FIFs, only financial capacity will be considered. In case of these funds, the financial capacity limit required for eligibility has been set at twice the prescribed level.“The concept of a concessionaire in BOT projects is ideally an entity capable of arranging finance, appointing construction firms for execution and managing the highway expansion efficiently. It is similar to film production – a producer arranges funding and brings together the right director and actors to make a successful film. This change in norms will bring a sea change and attract quality investment in the sector,” said an official.To ensure that the alternative funds engage competent construction firms, they will be required to submit credentials of their proposed contractors for approval by the authority. Contractors must meet the eligibility criteria specified in the bid document.