The National Highways Infra Trust, which is launching a Rs 1,500-crore NCD issue next week, will have 1,500 km of operational road assets, nearly 1.5 times more than what it has now, over the next three years, according to an official.
The trust has 636 km of operational national highways with it now across eight sections, which will touch 1,500 km over the next three years.
These Invit allocations are part of the Rs 6-lakh-crore national asset monetization plan of the Centre and the National Highways Authority will be the biggest contributor to this with 27 per cent of the total share.
In the first tranche of asset monetization, the NHAI, which is the sponsor of the Invit in November last allocated five operational roads to the trust, running into 389 km -- Abu Road-Swaroopganj section; Chittorgarh–Kota and Chittorgarh Bypass section; Kothakota Bypass–Kurnool section; Maharashtra/ Karnataka border (Kagal)–Belgaum section; and Palanpur/Khemana-Abu Road section.
For these, the trust has paid Rs 7,500 crore to the NHAI in concession fees for a 30-year tenor.
In the second tranche, in June the trust was given three more assets running into 247 km-- the Agra Bypass; Borkhedi-Kelapur-Telangana state border; and Shivpuri-Jhansi section, for 20 years at a concession fee of Rs 2,850 crore.
"Over the next three years, we will have over 860 km of highways with us," Suresh Goyal, chief executive of National Highways Infra Investment Managers said here while announcing the NCD issue that opens on October 17 and closes on November 7.
The trust is offering 8.05 per cent yield on an annualised basis and 7.90 per cent on a half-yearly basis for the 24-year-tenor debt, which will be listed on the bourses.
The base size of the issue is Rs 750 crore with an option to retain oversubscription up to Rs 750 crore, Mathew George, chief financial officer of National Highways Infra Investment Managers said, adding this is the only investible asset that has an assured return that's insulated from inflationary pressure.
Goyal said the trust will use the proceeds to repay the Rs 15,000 crore bridge loan it has taken from the Bank of Maharashtra to pay the concession fee to the NHAI. The trust also has an undrawn credit line of Rs 850 crore from the Bank of Maharashtra.
The National Highways Authority operates 1.364 lakh km of national highways, which is just about 2 per cent of the 63 lakh km of roads in the country.
But these national highways carry as much as 86 per cent of the passenger traffic and 68 per cent of goods, Union roads and highways minister Nitin Gadkari said.
Goyal said the National Highways Infra Trust has already raised Rs 8,000 crore from its maiden Invit sale, which has seen marquee investors such as the Ontario Teachers Pension Fund of Canada which has picked up the maximum permissible limit of 25 per cent and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, which too had picked up a similar quantum.
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