NHAI plans to raise $3 billion by monetising 25 national highway stretches in three tranches

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) plans to raise $3 billion by monetising 25 national highway stretches in three tranches, from May 2018 onwards. These stretches will span a total length of 1,640 km. Of this, 1,000 km will be bid out in the second and third tranches of toll-operate-transfer (TOT) auctions in May 2018 while the remaining 640 km will be bid out in the fourth tranche in June or July 2018. NHAI expects to raise $1 billion each from the second and third tranches and $750 million from the fourth tranche. At present, DPRs are being prepared for the same. The stretches in West Bengal and Odisha will be put up for auction in the second tranche while the stretches in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Telangana will be bid out in the third tranche. The fourth tranche of projects will be from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. Recently, the first tranche comprising nine projects under the  TOT model was oversubscribed as a result of which NHAI raised about $1.6 billion.