The National Highways Infra Trust (NHIT), an infrastructure Investment Trust managed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), has successfully completed its fund-raising activities through ‘InvIT Round-3’ for National Highway stretches totaling 889 kilometers, with an Enterprise Value exceeding Rs. 16,000 crore. This marks the largest monetization endeavor by NHAI and stands as one of the significant transactions in the history of India’s road sector. The issuance of the Letter of Acceptance (LOA) to secure the highest-ever concession value through ‘InvIT Round-3’ occurred in February 2024.
In this third round of monetization, NHIT has garnered unit capital of approximately Rs. 7,272 crore from prominent domestic and international investors and debt of around Rs. 9,000 crore from Indian lenders. This funding facilitated the acquisition of National Highway stretches, with a base concession fee of about Rs. 15,625 crore and additional concessional fees of Rs. 75 crore. Investors subscribed to the units through a book build process at a cut-off price of Rs. 124.14 per unit, representing a premium over the current NAV of Rs. 122.86 per unit.
The units attracted robust demand from both existing and new investors, including foreign pension funds like the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, domestic pension/provident funds, insurance companies, mutual funds, banks, and others. NHAI also subscribed to around 15% of the units at the same price.
With the completion of the third round of monetization, the total realized value of all three rounds of InvIT stands at Rs. 26,125 crore. NHIT now holds a diversified portfolio of fifteen operating toll roads spanning approximately 1,525 km across nine states, with concession periods ranging between 20 to 30 years.
Established in 2021 to support the Government of India’s National Monetization Pipeline, NHIT has emerged as a crucial player in the InvIT space, channelizing financial capital into the development of the Indian roads sector through successful Public Private Partnership (PPP). Commenting on the success of the latest round of NHAI’s monetization, officials emphasized NHIT’s pivotal role in supporting the National Monetisation Pipeline and its contribution to the development of India’s road sector.
Since November 2021, NHIT has raised approximately Rs. 12,000 crore through the first two rounds of monetization, acquiring eight operating road assets totaling 636 km from NHAI. Historically, NHIT units were issued at a price of Rs. 101 in November 2021 and listed on both BSE and NSE.