The National Highways Infrastructure Trust (NHIT), sponsored by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), is set to raise over Rs 200 billion from both domestic and foreign investors in the coming weeks to acquire 11 operational road assets. This round is not only the trust’s fourth fundraise but also its largest to date. According to official sources, approximately Rs 100 billion will be raised through the issuance of fresh equity units, supported by a matching debt component. The final amount will be determined by the book building process, with a portion of the equity raised through new subscriptions from existing unitholders, proportional to their current holdings. A key highlight of this issue is the anticipated participation of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) as an equity investor for the first time. Canadian funds Ontario and CPP Investment Board Private Holdings already hold a 25 per cent stake each in the trust, while NHAI and SBI AMC hold 15.48 per cent and 9.34 per cent respectively. With the latest acquisition round, NHIT is expected to attract additional equity investors, marking a significant step in its evolving investment strategy. In related developments, Adani recently secured NHAI’s new TOT asset with a bid of approximately Rs 16.92 billion. Under the NHIT model, the trust will operate and maintain the highways for a predetermined period, collect toll revenues, and repay investors. This approach, along with the toll-operate-transfer (TOT) model where private investors manage NHAI assets under long-term leases, is designed to ease the financing burden on NHAI. Funds raised through InvIT monetisation are primarily used to service and repay NHAI’s debt. To date, NHIT has raised a cumulative Rs 259 billion through three fundraise rounds and has acquired 15 road stretches spanning 1,525 km across nine states including Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Telangana. The latest asset acquisitions will add road stretches from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Chhattisgarh. Looking ahead, NHAI is targeting a monetisation raise of approximately Rs 540 billion in FY24-25 through InvIT, TOT, and project-based financing. In the current financial year, apart from regular debt servicing, NHAI has repaid around Rs 560 billion through these initiatives. The agency’s budgetary support for the next financial year stands at Rs 1.7 trillion, with the capital expenditure for building highways set at Rs 2.72 trillion for FY26. This significant fundraise by NHIT not only underscores the growing investor confidence in India’s infrastructure sector but also marks a strategic move to further monetise and develop the nation’s highway assets.