National Highways Infra Trust (NHIT), the infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) set up by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in 2020 to support the government’s monetisation programme, has successfully concluded its fourth round of fundraising at an enterprise value of about ₹18,380 crore, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said.

“This marks the largest monetisation transaction in the history of India’s roads sector. With the completion of this round, the total realised value across the four rounds stands at over ₹46,000 crore,” the ministry said in a release.

“In this round, NHIT has successfully raised ₹8,340 crore in unit capital from marquee domestic and international investors, along with ₹10,040 crore in debt from domestic lenders,” it added.

According to the ministry, these funds will be used for the acquisition of national highway stretches—Anakapalle–Narsannapeta, Gundugolanu–Kovvuru, and Chittoor–Mallavaram in Andhra Pradesh; Bareilly–Sitapur and Muzaffarnagar–Haridwar in Uttar Pradesh/Uttarakhand; Gandhidham–Mundra in Gujarat; and Raipur–Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh—at a concession value of ₹17,738 crore (including a premium of ₹97 crore).

“The investors subscribed to the units through a book-building process at a cut-off price of ₹133.50 per unit, reflecting a premium over the December 31, 2024, NAV of ₹131.94 per unit,” the ministry said.

The issue attracted strong demand from both existing and new investors. “Several domestic pension/provident funds—EPFO, L&T PF, Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Karamchari PF, and Indian Oil Corporation PF; insurance companies, including Axis Max Life Insurance; banks/financial institutions such as NaBFID, Axis Bank, and IndusInd Bank; and mutual/investment funds like Nippon India, Baroda BNP Paribas, Nuvama, and White Oak Capital—participated in the issue,” the ministry said.

“In addition, NHIT’s existing foreign investors, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board, participated in the book-building process to their maximum limit,” it added.

Subscription by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) of ₹2,035 crore formed a significant portion of this issue. “This is the first-ever investment by EPFO in an InvIT. Additionally, NHAI subscribed to its share of 15% of the units at the same price. With the completion of this round, NHIT will hold a diversified portfolio of 26 operating toll roads (41 toll plazas) with an aggregate length of 2,345 km, spread across 12 states, with concession periods ranging between 20 and 30 years,” the ministry said.