The National Highways Infrastructure Trust (NHIT) has announced its successful raise of over Rs 16,000 crore through equity and debt, aimed at acquiring nearly 900 kilometers of road from the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). This marks the largest asset monetisation effort by NHAI to date.
NHIT, an infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) sponsored by NHAI, concluded its fund-raising through ‘InvIT Round-3,’ securing an enterprise value exceeding Rs 16,000 crore for 889 kilometers of national highway stretches. This transaction is one of the largest in India’s road sector history.
The funds raised include approximately Rs 7,272 crore from prominent domestic and international investors in unit capital, along with debt of around Rs 9,000 crore from Indian lenders. The InvIT structure, akin to mutual funds, facilitates pooling money from investors to invest in assets generating cash flows over time.
In February 2024, NHIT received the letter of acceptance (LOA) to raise the highest-ever concession value through ‘InvIT Round-3.’ The offering garnered significant interest from existing and new investors, including foreign pension funds such as the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board.
Among the domestic investors participating in the funding round are various pension/provident funds, insurance companies, mutual funds, banks, and others. NHAI itself subscribed to 15 percent of the units at the same price.
With the completion of the third monetization round, the total realized value across all three rounds of InvIT now stands at Rs 26,125 crore. NHIT manages a diverse portfolio comprising 15 operating toll roads spanning approximately 1,525 kilometers across nine states.
Established in 2021 to support the National Monetization Pipeline, NHIT has been instrumental in facilitating public-private partnerships (PPP). Officials from both NHAI and the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways have lauded NHIT’s pivotal role in advancing the nation’s road infrastructure.
Suresh Goyal, Managing Director (investment manager) of NHIT, expressed gratitude to existing investors and welcomed new partners, emphasising the trust’s commitment to supporting NHAI in India’s road sector development.
Since November 2021, NHIT has raised approximately Rs 12,000 crore through the first two rounds of monetization, acquiring eight operating road assets spanning 636 kilometers from NHAI. The units of NHIT, issued in November 2021, were listed on both BSE and NSE following their issuance at a price of Rs 101.
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