National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)’s first public infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Tuesday, marking a major step towards attracting retail investors to monetize highway assets.
“Road users can now become actual owners of the roads. This will provide them a steady stream of income and also help in decentralization of wealth,” Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said at the listing ceremony. He said the move would allow ordinary road users to become stakeholders in national highway assets.
Gadkari said the initiative aims to expand participation beyond major investors. “Our road users largely belong to low- and middle-income groups. We want them to benefit from road development. If bank deposits offer returns of 4-5%, we are trying to create an avenue through which small investors can invest in roads and earn returns as well.”
Previous InvIT offerings by NHAI were limited to institutional investors, making it the first time that retail investors have been allowed to directly participate in such an instrument.
The listing comes amid the government’s broader push to monetize operational infrastructure assets. NHAI stirred up further $1.42 lakh crore through asset monetization modes like call transfer, calls and securitization till 2024-25.
The government has set a target to mobilize around $30,000 crore through asset monetization in the current financial year. InvITs are expected to play a major role in financing highway expansion. This step is consistent with the government’s strategy within the framework of the National Monetization Plan to unlock value from field assets and reinvest the proceeds in new infrastructure projects.
