The cash strapped Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation's (MSRDC) efforts to privatise the state-of-the-art Mumbai-Pune Expressway (MPEW) has paid off with the emergence of Mumbai-based Ideal Road Builders as the highest bidder quoting Rs 918 crore. MSRDC was forced to go in for privatisation as the bleeding state-run undertaking had realised that the accruals from the project revenues were just close to the interest cost of borrowings.