­Mumbai based, MEP Sanjose Mahuva Kagvadar Road Private Limited (MEPSMK) is a special-purpose vehicle (SPV) and a joint venture of MEP Infrastructures Developers Private Limited (MEPIDPL), incorporated in 2016 to undertake the construction of 4-lane road between Mahuva and Kagavadar, in Gujarat. The project road is a section of National Highway-8E, with a total length of 40.02 kilometers. The project has been awarded by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which is to be executed under HAM on a design-build-finance-operate-and transfer basis. The concession period is 15 years and the construction period is 2.5 years, based on semiannual annuity payment. The project cost is Rs 604.68 crore and is funded through term loans of Rs 272.10 crore, equity of Rs 90.70 crore and grant of Rs.241.87 crore. MEPSMK signed the concession agreement with NHAI on August 09, 2016. The appointed date was obtained in May 2017(revised) and the scheduled commercial operation date (COD) was July 04, 2019; but due to delays in execution, the revised COD was in March 2020. MEPSMK’s directors are Mr. Vilas Dattatray Pradhan, Mr. Sameer Anil Apte and Mr. Guillermo Manuel Sansano Fuentes.

­­Acuité has been requesting for data, information and undertakings from the rated entity for conducting surveillance & review of the rating. However, the issuer/borrower failed to submit such information before the due date.
Acuité believes that information risk is a critical component in such ratings, and non-cooperation by the issuer along with unwillingness to provide information could be a sign of potential deterioration in its overall credit quality.
This rating is, therefore, being flagged as “Issuer not-cooperating”, in line with prevailing SEBI regulations and Acuité’s policies.

­The rating is based on information available from sources other than the issuer/borrower (in the absence of information provided by the issuer/borrower). Acuité endeavoured to gather information about the entity/industry from the public domain. Therefore, Acuité cautions lenders and investors regarding the use of such information, on which the indicative credit rating is based.

­No information provided by the issuer / available for Acuite to comment upon.

­Not Applicable

­No information provided by the issuer / available for Acuite to comment upon.

­Not Applicable

­Not Applicable

­Not Applicable

­Acuité is yet to receive the latest No Default Statement (NDS) from the rated entity, despite repeated requests and follow-ups.

­In order to inform the investors about complexity of instruments, Acuité has categorized such instruments in three levels: Simple, Complex and Highly Complex. Acuite’ s categorisation of the instruments across the three categories is based on factors like variability of the returns to the investors, uncertainty in cash flow patterns, number of counterparties and general understanding of the instrument by the market. It has to be understood that complexity is different from credit risk and even an instrument categorized as 'Simple' can carry high levels of risk. For more details, please refer Rating Criteria “Complexity Level Of Financial Instruments” on www.acuite.in.