India Resurgence Fund invests $75 million in Thrissur Expressway

The Piramal- and Bain Capital-promoted fund will use the money for recasting TEL's existing debt and for last-mile financing to enable project completion

Piramal Enterprises and Bain Capital Credit-promoted India Resurgence Fund on Monday announced an investment of $75 million (Rs 555 crore) in Thrissur Expressway Limited,  a part of Hyderabad based KMC Constructions Limited.

IRF, which has investments from global investors, will utilise the funding for restructuring TEL’s existing debt and for last-mile financing to enable project completion.

"On completion, the project will significantly improve connectivity between key South Indian states namely, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and will create significant efficiency and savings for both commercial and passenger traffic. IndiaRF has the capital and the expertise to invest in similar opportunities that will provide effective solutions that address bottlenecks in infrastructure projects of national interest, resolve issues in the capital structure of such projects, support financial institutions and create win-win situations for all stakeholders," Shantanu Nalavadi, Managing Director, IndiaRF said.

TEL, a special purpose vehicle of KMC, is a 28-km highway project in the state of Kerala, between Thrissur and Vadakkanchery. It is a part of the National Highway that connects Kochi, Kerala and Salem, Tamil Nadu which passes through several important cities such as Erode, Coimbatore, Palakkad and Thrissur. TEL was awarded the project in 2009, for widening the existing two lane stretch to six lanes, by the National Highway Authority of India under the Design, Build, Finance, Operate, and Transfer basis, for a concession period of 20 years.

“The investment from IndiaRF comes at a critical juncture for project completion. We are confident of completion of the last mile and opening the entire stretch at the earliest so that it improves the connectivity between the towns and key states of South India. We are particularly pleased that we have been able to design, build and operate a 1km long tunnel which achieves the twin objective of improving connectivity and at the same time, contributes to the rich biodiversity of this region," Vikram Reddy, Managing Director, KMC Constructions Limited said.

Equirus Capital are the exclusive advisors to KMC on this Transaction.