By FY25, NHAI to achieve up to 71 pc of NMP monetisation target

Chennai: By the end of FY25, National Highways would have achieved up to 71 per cent of its monetisation target under the National Monetisation Pipeline for the period between FY22 and FY25.

Under NMP, road sector monetisation was expected to account for Rs 1.6 lakh crore or 27 per cent of total monetisation during FY2022-FY2025 period. The aggregate potential of monetising core assets of the Centre for the four-year period is Rs 6 lakh crore and this included assets of Railways, power, pipeline and natural gas, civil aviation, shipping ports and waterways, telecom, public distribution and mining.

During FY2022–FY2024, the NHAI had realised Rs 53,000 crore or 33 per cent. According to ICRA, NHAI’s highway monetisation may garner around Rs 53,000 crore to Rs 60,000 crore in FY25. With the potential monetisation for FY2025, cumulative realisation is expected to span between 65 – 71 per cent.

However, NHAI has raised Rs. 42,300 crore through Toll Operate Transfer (TOT) route and Rs. 25,800 crore through sale to the National Highways Infra Trust - NHAI InvIT till FY24. NHAI had monetised roads for Rs 9682 crore in FY19 and Rs 5011 crore in FY21, thus aggregating the total asset monetisation to over Rs 68,100 crore.

For FY25, NHAI has identified 33 highway stretches across 12 states, cumulatively spanning nearly 2750 km, to monetise in FY2025. These will be monetised through either Toll Operate Transfer (TOT) or Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT).

The NHAI intends to club the 33 identified assets into large with more than Rs. 6,000 crore and medium with about 3,000-4,000 crore, and smaller bundles of Rs. 1,000-3,000 crore, for different types of investors.

NHAI has not yet finalised the mix of ToT and InvIT for the identified 33 sections. However, with the cumulative annual toll collections of Rs 4,931 crore for FY2024 and assuming 20 years of concession period and valuation multiple, these assets may garner around Rs 53,000 crore to Rs 60,000 crore for the NHAI.