NHAI to Monetise 550 km Highways via InvIT This Year

10 Jul 2025 CW Team

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has shortlisted nine highway stretches totalling over 550 km across Maharashtra, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal for monetisation via the Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) route in the current financial year, according to a Financial Express report.

These stretches will be monetised through the National Highways Infrastructure Trust (NHIT), marking the fifth round of InvIT transactions since the mechanism was launched in 2021–22.

While previous years have seen a single InvIT issuance annually, officials suggest that two rounds could take place in 2024–25. The government’s Asset Monetisation Strategy supports conducting multiple InvIT rounds per year.

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari had earlier stated that InvIT would increasingly replace the Toll Operate Transfer (ToT) model. The NHAI has yet to finalise concessionaires for two ToT highway bundles bid out in the previous fiscal, while bids remain open for two more bundles under this model.

This year’s InvIT round is expected to be smaller in scale compared to FY24, when NHIT acquired 821 km of highways from NHAI with an upfront payment of Rs 177.38 billion. The upcoming round is estimated to raise around Rs 125 billion.

Since its inception, the NHAI has monetised 2,345 km of national highways through InvITs, raising Rs 436.38 billion.

A public InvIT option is also under discussion, which would allow retail investors to invest via equity units.

Should the ToT model be fully phased out, InvITs would become the primary vehicle to meet the government's monetisation goals under the second National Monetisation Pipeline. The plan aims to mobilise Rs 10 trillion over five years from 2025, with the highways sector expected to contribute Rs 3.5 trillion, requiring annual monetisation of over Rs 500 billion.

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