New Delhi
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is on track to bolster its revenue through a targeted asset monetisation strategy, potentially fetching up to Rs 60,000 crore in the fiscal year 2025, according to an assessment by credit rating agency ICRA.
ICRA projects that the monetisation of 33 road assets through the toll-operate-transfer (TOT) and Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) modes could yield between Rs 53,000 crore and Rs 60,000 crore.
This substantial inflow could open a lending opportunity of Rs 38,000-43,000 crore for banks and capital markets. Furthermore, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is poised to achieve up to 71 per cent of its Rs 1.6 lakh crore target under the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) by the end of FY2025.
In April 2024, NHAI announced an indicative list of 33 road assets targeted for monetisation in FY2025. These assets, spanning nearly 2,750 kilometres across 12 states, generate an annual toll revenue of Rs 4,931 crore.
Ashish Modani, Vice President and Co-Group Head of Corporate Ratings at ICRA said, Over the last six years, the NHAI has monetised 29 assets across 10 TOT bundles with valuation multiples3 ranging between 0.44 times to 0.93 times, realising Rs. 42,334 crore so far. Considering a 20-year concession period and annual toll collections, the identified 33 assets may garner between Rs 53,000 – 60,000 crore, as per ICRA’s assessment.
