Road Ministry Doubles Defect Liability Period to 10 Years

New Delhi, Feb 14 (PTI) The road ministry is planning to double the defect liability period under engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) contracts to 10 years to improve the quality of construction, a senior government official said.

Under the EPC model, the responsibility for maintenance of national highways lies with the government after the defect liability period (5 years) is over, during which the contractor is responsible for maintenance.

The government funds the entire infrastructure project under the EPC model, while the private sector partner only provides engineering and construction assistance.

"We are doing a consultation with experts and stakeholders on increasing the defect liability period under EPC contracts to 10 years as the ministry is keen on improving the quality of construction," the official said on the condition of anonymity.

The official noted that increasing the defect liability period for contractors will force them to make good quality roads, which will last for a longer duration and need less maintenance by the Centre as in the case of roads built under hybrid annuity mode (HAM) and built-operate-transfer(BOT) mode.

BOT projects provide the risk of financing, building and operating highway projects with a concession period of 20-30 years.

National Highways Authority of India and National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) are mainly responsible for the construction of national highways and expressways in India. Maintenance of national highways is financed by the Central Road Infrastructure Fund.