NHAI banks on revised model agreement to push asset monetisation

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) aims to provide over 2700 kilometer of highways for asset monetisation in FY25 under toll, operate, and transfer (TOT) and infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) modes after a recent revision in the model concession agreements (MCA).

Having a huge debt of Rs 3.4 lakh crore, NHAI has been exploring various modes of earnings, and asset monetisation is a key area of focus. In FY24, NHAI had monetised highway assets worth Rs 40,314 crore through TOT, InvIT, and toll securitisation.

The NHAI released a list of 33 highway stretches that will be monetised through ToT and InvIT modes in FY25. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has introduced revisions to build-operate-transfer (BOT) and TOT projects based on consultations with stakeholders.

“The revenue remittances from these stretches stood at Rs 4931 crore, and the target is to earn Rs 45000 crore through monetisation,” said an NHAI official.

National Highways Infra Trust (NHIT), the infrastructure Investment Trust by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), successfully concluded fund-raising through ’InvIT Round-3’ for National Highway stretches of aggregate length of 889 km over Rs 16,000 crore, the largest monetization by NHAI. The total realised value of all three rounds of InvIT stands at Rs 26,125 crore.

These units witnessed strong demand from both existing and new investors, including foreign pension funds—the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, which are existing unitholders and subscribed to a maximum limit of 25% each. Domestic pension/provident funds also showed interest.

The NHAI hopes to garner similar interests from various players looking to invest in highway projects.