NIIF mulls raising foreign funds to boost infra buffer: CEO

Infrastructure fund NIIF is planning to raise capital from global institutional investors to meet India's funding needs, estimated to be as much as USD 1 trillion, for building roads, ports, bridges and airports.
"We are in the process right now of raising of capital from international institutional investors. As per different estimates, we in India need from about USD 500 billion to USD 1 trillion investment in infrastructure sector for next five years," said Sujoy Bose, CEO, National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), at a conference here.
He said NIIF wants to create a capital buffer for as much as 15 years so that there is no dearth of funds to support infrastructure development in the country.

"We are enhancing a more continuous cash flow," Bose added while talking at a discussion panel at the Mahindra World City Confluence on 'Building Cities to Last'.
A public-private partnership anchored by a significant minority from government, NIIF will leverage commercial institutional capital for investments in Indian infrastructure.
However, he also said there are challenges in terms of creating balance between long term and short term capital availability.

Director General, Investment Operations Department, Asian Infrastructure Bank (AIB) Yee Ean Pang said it is relevant to stay competent in building smart cities and they should be self sustainable.
"There are reasons why cities are built. They need to stay relevant and be competitive. Also, cities need to have good connectivity/highways because it helps per capita GDP," Yee said.

Citing examples from the US and Japan, he said there are is a direct correlation between per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the number of connectivities to stay ahead.