New Delhi:
The government’s plan to monetize railway assets by allowing private sector players to run trains failed to attract investors due to improper structuring, so the Ministry of Railways is reviewing it, the chief executive of the railways said. government think tank Niti Aayog, Amitabh Kant.
At a conference on Friday, Mr. Kant said that the private sector will only invest if there is a certain return. “Therefore, proper project structuring is key to the success of any monetization deal. Obviously, the rail train project was not well structured and did not attract good private sector participants. In addition, IRCTC also bid on rail trains,” he said.
“They lacked a good amount of structuring and so both the rail and train stations are being re-examined, re-examined by the Ministry of Railways and the Minister of Railways and they will now call how to do it and what the model should be for that. is being deliberated by the new minister,” said Mr Kant.
Referring to the monetization pipeline with government assets worth Rs 6 lakh crore, he said all the assets in the pipeline have potential for monetization.
“All assets of Rs 6 lakh crore listed in the monetization pipeline are all income generating assets and it should be well structured and it can easily attract investors to these brownfield assets. These are assets where income flows are already pouring in. If the projects are not well structured, you will not get the right bidders, you will not get the right value, you will not serve the interest of the country,” explained the CEO Niti Aayog.
Speaking at the conference, Tuhin Kanta Pandey, secretary of the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), said the government-owned company policy announced in February 2021 is now the leading divestment policy.
According to the policy, the government will have a minimal presence in broad strategic areas.