IRB Infrastructure Trust wins NHAI's TOT-18 highway concession in Odisha

IRB Infrastructure Trust will pay Rs 3,087 crore upfront for a 20-year revenue-linked toll-operate-transfer project on NH-16, expanding the group's highway footprint to 13 states

IRB Infrastructure Trust, a private infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) backed by IRB Infrastructure Developers, has emerged as the preferred bidder for the toll-operate-transfer (TOT)-18 concession announced by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in Odisha.

 

What does the TOT-18 concession involve? 

Under the 20-year, revenue-linked concession, the trust will pay an upfront amount of Rs 3,087 crore to NHAI after achieving financial closure to secure tolling rights. The InvIT will look after tolling, operation, maintenance and transfer of the 74.5-kilometre-long (450 lane km) Chandikhole–Bhadrak section of NH-16.

 

How does this expand IRB Group’s presence? 

With this win, the IRB Group has expanded its footprint to the 13th Indian state. IRB is the largest integrated private toll roads and highways infrastructure developer in India, with an asset base of Rs 94,000 crore across the parent company and two InvITs.

 

 

What is IRB’s share in national highway projects? 

The group has around a 16 per cent share, including TOT-18, in India’s Golden Quadrilateral project and a 12 per cent share in India’s North–South highway connectivity.

 

What does IRB’s current project portfolio look like? 

With the latest addition, the company will have 28 highway projects in its portfolio, including 18 build-operate-transfer (BOT), six TOT and four hybrid annuity model (HAM) projects. Last month, the company received the letter of award (LoA) from NHAI for the TOT-17 bundle valued at Rs 9,270 crore.

 

What has the company said about its TOT expansion? 

“This achievement further reinforces IRB Infra’s leading position in the TOT space, involving an upfront payment of approximately Rs 34,000 crore to the government across six TOT assets, and expands our aggregate asset base to approximately Rs 94,000 crore,” said Virendra Mhaiskar, chairperson and managing director, IRB Infrastructure Developers.

 

What assets does the company currently manage? 

The company also manages 11 highway assets with 8,763 lane km and an enterprise value of around Rs 62,000 crore. The weighted average life of these assets is over 20 years.