Finance Ministry empanels 12 Transaction Advisers to provide support in implementation of PPP projects

In the FY23 budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the government's intention to create an environment to increase private investment in infrastructure.

The government has also launched the VGF Scheme to support infrastructure projects that are economically justified and commercially viable.

The latest initiative requires that at the Central, State, and Local government level, Project Sponsoring Authorities have access to quality advisory support for viable PPP transactions, the finance ministry said in a statement.

State governments have been demanding a system that prevents delays in the appointment of transaction advisors/ consultants for preparing a shelf of bankable projects.

According to the World Bank, the bankability of a project can connote varying ideas. To some financiers, a project is bankable where it generates sufficient cash flows to meet obligations created during capital outlay. To others, bankability relates to the ability of a project to yield optimal returns.

The TA panel will be made available to central ministries, state governments, statutory bodies, Public Sector Enterprises (PSE) and other such undertakings within the purview of ministries/ departments of the Government of India and the state governments either undertaking or intending to undertake PPP transactions, the Finance Ministry said.

The creation of the panel will help the implementing authority to pick a TA from the pool, it added.