NHAI to set up INVIT to bring investment in highway sector

NEW DELHI: With an aim to facilitate investment in the highway sector, National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is in the process of setting up an Infrastructure Investment Trust (INVIT). Invits are instruments that work like mutual funds. They are designed to pool small sums of money from a number of investors to invest in assets that give cash flow over a period of time. Works well for the road sector where steady cash flows take time and Invits give liquidity to service debt.

As part of the structure proposed by NHAI, a new company is being set up to act as the Investment Manager to the proposed INVIT.

As NHAI INVIT will be the first INVIT to be sponsored by any government or semi government entity in the country, NHAI has decided to have a professional management structure for the proposed investment manager. Accordingly, a searchcum-selection committee has been formed to select the best talent from the market for appointment of two independent Directors and one Chairman for the Investment Manager Board.

Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, Chairman, NHAI is the Convener of the Committee and other members include Deepak Parekh, Chairman, Housing Development Finance Corporation; Girish Chandra Chaturvedi, Chairman, ICICI Bank; and Sanjay Mitra, Ex-secretary, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. The idea is to set up a competent entity of experts that can professionally run the Infrastructure Trust to mobilize resources from the market for monetizing completed highway projects of NHAI.