The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has achieved a milestone in asset monetization by raising a record ₹15,624.90 crore through ‘InvIT Round-3’. This achievement was made possible by monetizing 10 stretches of highways spanning approximately 890 km, according to a statement from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
InvITs, or Infrastructure Investment Trusts, function similarly to mutual funds by pooling money from investors and investing in assets that generate steady cash flows over time. NHAI’s infrastructure investment trust, named NHIT, facilitates the monetization of highway stretches it acquires from NHAI.
Remarkably, the letter of acceptance (LOA) for the third round was issued within two hours of the bid opening, marking it as the most successful round to date. NHAI has previously raised ₹10,000-11,000 crore through two funding rounds conducted in 2022 and 2023 via the InvIT route.
NHAI employs three modes for monetization: toll operate transfer (TOT), InvIT, and securitization. In the current fiscal year, NHAI has awarded four TOT bundles, resulting in a monetized value of ₹15,968 crore. The success rate in TOT mode during FY24 was an impressive 100%, with LOAs issued within one day of the financial bid opening.
Under the TOT mode, NHAI has already monetized six rounds spanning 1,614 km, generating ₹26,366 crore, along with two rounds of InvIT covering 635 km and realizing ₹10,200 crore. Additionally, NHAI has raised approximately ₹37,000 crore through securitization and aims to raise an additional ₹5,000 crore by the end of FY24.
With these achievements, NHAI’s total asset monetization programme has surpassed ₹1 trillion, comprising ₹42,334 crore through TOT, ₹26,125 crore through InvIT, and ₹42,000 crore through securitization.
This milestone aligns with the government of India’s vision under the national monetization plan and underscores its commitment to fulfilling budgetary announcements. Roads play a crucial role in the national monetization pipeline, with the central government identifying national highways and road assets worth ₹1.6 trillion to be monetized by 2024-25, contributing to the overall target of ₹6 trillion for the same period.
