AJR Infra & Tolling Ltd is a specialist in building and operating public infrastructure - roads, ports, and power plants - under long-term government concessions, using a separate company for each project to ring-fence risk and attract partners. Born as Gammon Infrastructure Projects Limited, a spin-off from the engineering group Gammon India, it has spent over two decades assembling a portfolio of assets where the right to collect a toll, a cargo fee, or a power tariff is locked in for decades. The recurring approach is to develop a project inside its own Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), get it operational, and then sell down the stake to unlock cash for the next one - a cycle of build, de-risk, and monetise that has already seen six SPVs divested.
Business segments
Three engines at different stages - a port terminal that generates steady cargo-handling fees, a road-and-bridge portfolio built around toll and annuity concessions, and a collection of power projects where hydro and co-generation assets are being restructured or sold - each housed in its own SPV and shaped by the same build-operate-monetise playbook.
1. Ports & terminals: the cargo-handling concession that throws off cash
A multi-purpose berth at India’s largest major port collects a fee on every tonne of bulk cargo moved, with a revenue-share paid to the port authority - infrastructure economics, not trading.
- Paid per tonne handled - the terminal at Visakhapatnam Port operates two mechanised berths with a combined capacity of 9 million tonnes per annum, handling 6.90 million tonnes of cargo in the year to March 2025, and pays 17.11% of its revenue to the port trust.
- The concession is the moat - a 30-year BOT agreement signed in 2001 gives it the right to be the only multi-bulk-cargo operator at the port, with commercial operations running since July 2004.
- Infrastructure that lowers its own cost - the terminal has its own electrified railway sidings and a digital challan system to control road movement, so cargo logistics are faster and cheaper than relying on third-party rail.
- Bigger ships, more cargo - dredging to a depth of -16.10 metres means fully laden Panamax vessels can berth, and a fifth crane - a higher-capacity Leibherr mobile harbour crane - was added to handle the extra volume.
- Stake sold down, not walked away from - the company has reduced its holding from 73.76% to 23.56% through two sales to Shripriya Ports Private Limited, turning a controlled subsidiary into an associate that still contributes earnings.
2. Roads & highways: toll and annuity concessions on national corridors
The company bids for road projects where it either collects a toll from every vehicle or receives a fixed annuity from the government, then builds and maintains the highway inside a dedicated SPV.
- Two ways to get paid - in a toll project, the SPV keeps the toll revenue for the entire operation period; in an annuity project, the government pays a fixed sum, removing traffic-volume risk.
- Qualified to bid on OMT and tolling contracts - the company meets NHAI norms to compete for Operate-Maintain-Transfer and hybrid annuity projects, which are shorter in duration and tie up less capital than full greenfield builds.
- An EPC joint venture that delivers cash - the Duburi-Chandikhole project in Odisha is a 39.4 km road-widening contract with NHAI, executed through a JV with Gammon Engineers and Contractors, where the company receives its profit share regularly.
- Asset-light services as the next layer - the company is building a fee-based Operation and Maintenance (O&M) practice for roads, creating a steady revenue stream that does not require the heavy upfront capital of a concession bid.
3. Power generation: hydro and co-generation assets under restructuring
A portfolio of BOOT power projects - two hydroelectric plants in the Himalayas and a bagasse-fired co-generation unit in Maharashtra - where the company sells electricity to state grids and industrial clients under long-term purchase agreements.
- A co-generation plant with a captive fuel risk - the 30 MW Pravara project in Maharashtra sells power to a cooperative sugar factory and surplus to the state distribution company, but its viability hinges on securing bagasse at a workable price, and a court order has restrained the factory from entering the premises of the plant.
- A near-complete hydro asset looking for a buyer - the 66 MW Rangit II project in Sikkim has its dam, head race tunnel, and surge shaft partially excavated, all clearances in hand, and financial closure achieved; the board has approved the divestment of the Company's stake in the SPV to Ajanma Holdings for ₹20 Crores.
- Early-stage hydro shelved by local opposition - the 60 MW Tidong-II project in Himachal Pradesh has a prefeasibility approval but the detailed project report was delayed by village disputes and poor site access, while the larger 261 MW Youngthang project was stalled entirely by farmer protests and the SPV has since ceased to be a subsidiary after its shares were transferred by a lender.
- Insolvency used as a reset tool - Pravara entered the corporate insolvency process in January 2023, while Sikkim Hydro’s insolvency was admitted in 2020 and then terminated in June 2022 after a settlement cleared all dues, allowing the company to regain control and restart sale talks.
Group structure and partners
Every project lives in its own SPV, and the group’s history is one of continuous divestment - six SPVs sold, multiple subsidiaries transferred to lenders, and a parent entity that retains influence through Gammon India and Gammon Power.
- SPVs as the operating DNA - each infrastructure concession is held in a separate subsidiary, joint venture, or associate, isolating project-level debt and performance from the parent company.
- Government as the primary customer - the SPVs’ revenue ultimately comes from government organisations, whether through NHAI toll concessions, port authority agreements, or state electricity distribution companies.
- Lenders taking equity in stressed assets - Indira Container Terminal and Youngthang Power ceased to be subsidiaries in September 2024 when their shares were appropriated by Yuvyze Consulting LLP against outstanding loans.
- Insolvency as a boundary, not a contagion - Patna Highway Projects, Rajahmundry Godavari Bridge, and Pravara Renewable Energy entered CIRP at different times, but each sits in its own SPV, so the parent’s exposure is limited to its equity and corporate guarantees.