Highway projects worth Rs 8,000 crore to be monetised via InvIT in six months

Representational image.

The government plans to monetise an additional 500 km of completed highway projects worth Rs 8,000 crore through the infrastructure investment trust, or InvIT, route over the next six months, according to report by business daily Mint.

In October, the government monetised a road bundle of 390 km by transferring it to National Highways Authority of India's (NHAI) InvIT . So far, NHAI has raised around Rs 7,000-8,000 crore through this route.

Road transport and highways secretary Giridhar Aramane said in an interview to Mint that two bundles of road assets of 500 km (around 250 km each) were identified for monetisation through the NHAI InvIT this year.

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While the first bundle of around 250 km has already been approved for transfer to the NHAI InvIT, Aramane claimed that the next batch of about 250 km of completed road assets worth Rs 4,000 crore would be offered to the InvIT around October-November.

All these roads are operational NHAI highway assets, with a track record of high toll revenues amid rising traffic. The secretary said the government also plans to take road sector InvITs public by allowing retail investors to purchase units after it secures approval from capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

Earlier this year, Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the government is committed to expanding the national highway network across the country with the aim of constructing 18,000 km of highways in FY23 at a record speed of 50 km per day. The minister further said the government’s overall target is to develop 2 lakh km of national highway network by 2025.