The National Highways Infrastructure Trust (NHIT), established by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), has completed its third round of fundraising, termed ‘InvIT Round-3’, for National Highway stretches spanning a total length of 889 kilometers. This achievement amounts to an Enterprise Value exceeding Rs 16,000 crore, marking it as the largest monetization initiative undertaken by NHAI and one of the most substantial transactions in the annals of the Indian road sector. The issuance of the Letter of Acceptance (LoA) to attain the highest-ever concession value through ‘InvIT Round-3’ occurred in February 2024.
In this latest monetisation round, NHIT garnered unit capital of approximately Rs 7,272 crore from prominent domestic and international investors, alongside securing a debt of about Rs 9,000 crore from Indian lenders. These funds are designated for the acquisition of National Highway stretches, with a base concession fee reaching around Rs 15,625 crore, and additional concessional fees amounting to Rs 75 crore. Investors subscribed to the units through a book-building process, with a cut-off price of Rs 124.14 per unit, reflecting a premium over the current NAV of Rs. 122.86 per unit.
The demand for units surged 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 15 percent of the units at the same price.
With the completion of the third monetization round, the total realized value from all three rounds of InvIT stands at Rs 26,125 crore. NHIT now holds a diversified portfolio comprising 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 key player in the Infrastructure Investment Trust space. Commenting on the success of the latest round, Shri Anurag Jain, Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, highlighted NHIT’s pivotal role in facilitating the National Monetization Pipeline and its establishment as a leading entity in the InvIT domain.
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 km from NHAI. The units of NHIT were historically issued at Rs 101 in November 2021 and listed on both BSE and NSE.
