The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is set to start the bidding process for its fifth round of monetisation via an infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) by the end of this month. This round is expected to raise between Rs 70 to 80 billion. The monetisation will be conducted through the National Highways Infrastructure Trust (NHIT). Major investors in NHIT include Canadian pension funds, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board Limited and CPP Investments, each holding around 25 per cent units. Other stakeholders are mutual funds, pension funds, the Employee Pension Fund Organisation (EPFO), and state government funds.
This round’s fundraising target is about half of the amount raised in the past three years via InvITs. The overall InvIT fundraising target for 2025-26 is Rs 150 billion, with the remaining amount planned to be raised through a public InvIT offering, expected to allow retail investors to invest in equity units for the first time. Through public InvIT, the government hopes to expand the investor base, encourage competition in the InvIT market, and provide stable infrastructure assets to retail investors.