The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has unveiled its first-ever asset monetisation strategy for the roads sector, a major step to draw in private investment and guarantee long-term infrastructure funding. The paper offers a thorough framework for using securitisation methods, infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs), and toll-operate-transfer (ToT) to generate revenue from operational national highway assets.
The effectiveness and influence of alternative financing instruments in the road sector are demonstrated by the fact that NHAI has raised over Rs 1.4 trillion from more than 6,100 km of national highways owing to these mechanisms, which are already in place under the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP).
The plan is organised around three main pillars: market expansion through increased investor base and stakeholder involvement; transparency and distribution of information pertinent to investors; and value maximisation of operational highway assets.
The centre’s Asset Monetisation Plan 2025-2030, which seeks to capitalise on the commercial potential of public infrastructure and transition to market-driven, sustainable financing models, is in line with the monetisation approach.
Furthermore, as part of its new strategy, NHAI aims to monetise 1,472 km of assets across states in 2025-26.