 "NHAI to begin next round of road monetisation after completing surveys")
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will begin the next round of road monetisation after completing fresh traffic surveys, mainly to gauge the impact of Covid-19 on traffic in the last one year.
Traffic projections in the previous round of toll-operate-transfer (TOT) projects were based on surveys conducted a couple of years ago. A lot, in terms of traffic on national highways, has changed in the post-pandemic scenario.
Experts believe that the previous surveys are dated now and only the latest evaluation of traffic and its density can ascertain the real value of projects. Officials at NHAI believe that, at present, the traffic is fluctuating due to Covid and the authority would wait till it subsides to launch its next TOT offering.
“The earlier surveys are dated and the authority needs to conduct a fresh set of surveys to gauge the impact of Covid,” said an independent expert. The authority has generated over Rs 17,000 crore through the TOT model so far. For the most recent fifth bundle of TOT actions, NHAI got bids of over Rs 600 crore more than the reserve price.
NHAI is in the process of monetising the national highways through infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) and TOT modes. It has charted a monetisation plan that would offer 32 projects, of over 1,500 km, in the current financial year.
In March this year, Union minister for road transport & highways Nitin Gadkari said NHAI was planning to raise Rs 1 trillion through monetisation of national highways in the next five years. He exhorted industry players to come forward to reap rich dividends by investing in highways.
Besides the TOT model, NHAI is also exploring the InvIT route to monetise assets. The authority has firmed up a pipeline of 19 projects worth Rs 35,000 crore under the InvIT model. The InvIT is being set up as a private listed InvIT to attract large institutional investors.
An InviT is an investment trust that works like a mutual fund and is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).
