NHAI to improve Rs 60,000cr from securitisation of toll kitty

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) aims to increase Rs 60,000 crore with securitisation of toll collection from four major under-construction NH projects - three expressways and a single economic corridor - in next three years. This will be nearly two-third of the fund needed for the construction of these highways and will decrease upfront government investment in the capital intensive projects.

NHAI is going for this mode of raising funds for new projects after the success of securitisation of toll in Delhi-Mumbai expressway project. It has raised around Rs 30,000 crore till now and targets to get another Rs 15,000 crore in this financial year. In this mode of monetisation, the repayment of principal with assured rate of interest is linked to the toll collection and it commences one year after the tolling starts.

A senior official said the proposal to set up four self-sustaining special purpose vehicles (SPVs) has been finalised and the NHAI is awaiting finance ministry's approval. An SPV each will be set up for Visakhapatnam-Raipur, Delhi-Amritsar-Katra, Amritsar-Jamnagar and Chennai-Bengaluru highways. The road assets will be transferred to the SPV that will manage fund raising, operation and repayment of loan. The capital investment in these projects is around Rs 90,000 crore. Transferring an asset to SPVs lowers the NHAI debt as it's shifted to the new entity and does not remain on the books of the highway authority.