Petaling Jaya, 27 April 2022 – IJM Corporation Berhad (“IJM” of “the Group”) has achieved another milestone with the highly anticipated opening of the Solapur-Bijapur tollway built by its Indian arm, IJM (India) Infrastructure Limited (“IJM India”). India’s Honourable Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the four-lane 110 km tollway at a ceremony in Solapur, Maharashtra state on Monday.

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) awarded a 20-year concession contract to IJM India to develop the Solapur-Bijapur section of the new National Highway 52 between the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka.

At RM1.5 billion (INR 2,325 crores), the four-lane, 110 km tollway was the largest Indian project undertaken by IJM in value and one of the largest contracts awarded by NHAI on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis. The project involved the rehabilitation, upgrading and widening of the existing two-lane carriageway to four-lane standards with bypasses and the construction of flyovers, bridges, road intersections, railway overbridges as well as the operation and maintenance of two toll plazas.

Provisional commercial operations and tolling commenced in December 2021. The construction of the tollway began in November 2018 and was provisionally completed in 38 months. In spite of the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic such as movement restriction orders, incorporating more stringent standard operating procedures on health and safety and supply chain disruptions, the project was successfully completed ahead of schedule. To date, actual traffic volume and revenue are in line with projection, and the project has generated positive operational cash flows since tolling commenced.

Connecting southern and northern India via the Solapur - Bijapur stretch with bypasses and six flyovers, the tollway enables greater convenience on the road resulting in reduced travel time, cost of travel and increased ride quality for the high-density commercial vehicle corridor between the major Indian cities of Bangalore (Karnataka State) and Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh State).  

“I would like to congratulate our IJM India team and thank them for their round-the-clock dedication in completing the project. The accomplishments and timely completion of this project reaffirms our capabilities and track record as a builder of choice and high-performance concessionaire,” said Mr Liew Hau Seng, CEO & Managing Director of IJM Corporation Berhad.

“Apart from providing earnings visibility and serving as a long-term growth driver that the completion of the Solapur-Bijapur tollway accords the Group, we are proud to have played a role in expediting the improvement of infrastructure in the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. Efficient and convenient toll highways are essential to complement any government’s efforts to improve its country’s infrastructure development. With a stable of prominent projects completed in India in recent years, IJM India has emerged as a premier DBFOT specialist and have set standards for road construction in the country’s infrastructure sector,” Mr Liew added.

In February 2021, IJM India set a national record of laying bituminous concrete on 25.54 lane kilometers in a short span of 18 hours for the Solapur-Bijapur highway. This is the first time in the history of NHAI projects that such a feat has been attempted and achieved by any construction company in India. This achievement has gained entry into the Limca Book of Records 2020-2022 (India’s version of the Guinness Book of World Records) and Asia Book of Records. This year, IJM India was awarded the

the Achievement Award for the Best Professionally Managed Company in Construction and the Achievement Award for Best Project for the Solapur-Bijapur road project by the Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC) of India at the 13^th CIDC Vishwakarma Awards.

IJM India currently operates three tolled highways in India — the 110 km Solapur-Bijapur tollway, 68 km Chilkaluripet-Vijayawada tollway and 19.8 km Dewas Bypass tollway. Since 1998, IJM India has delivered several major road projects totalling more than 1,500 route kilometres along with 20 km of urban rail projects as well as 20.20 million square feet of prime residential and commercial development in India.  

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About IJM Corporation Berhad

IJM Corporation Berhad (“IJM”), formed in 1983, today ranks as one of Malaysia’s leading conglomerates with an international footprint forged by its four core businesses: construction, property development, industry (quarrying and the manufacture of building materials) and infrastructure concessions. IJM holds leading positions across all its business divisions. Its growth is the direct result of strong leadership, dedicated employees, financial prudence and commitment to good governance and quality.

The Group presently has a market capitalisation of around RM5.6 billion and as of December 2021, the Group employed over 3,000 employees and had total assets of RM21.8 billion.

For more information, visit www.ijm.com

For media enquiries, please contact:

Ms. Mandy Chen, Corporate Communications, at mandychen@ijm.com or + 60 12 607 6121

Mr. Shane Guha Thakurta, Investor Relations, at shanethakurta@ijm.com or + 60 3 7985 8041

Photos and caption:

India’s Honourable Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari inaugurated 10 National Highway projects, including IJM India’s Solapur-Bijapur Tollway in Solapur, Maharashtra, India on Monday

IJM India’s record-setting Solapur-Bijapur Tollway aims to strengthen the road network in the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka