NHAI to set up InvIT for investment in highway sector

The NHAI is in the process of setting up an Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) to facilitate investment in the highways sector, the government said on Thursday.

This will be the first InvIT to be sponsored by any government entity in the country. A search committee has been set up for appointment of chairman and two independent directors for its Investment Manager Board.

InvITs are instruments on the pattern of mutual funds and are designed to pool small sums of money from a number of investors to invest in assets that generate cash flows over a period of time.

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

"As NHAI InvIT shall be the first InvIT to be sponsored by any government or semi government entity in the country, it is important to have a professional management structure for the investment manager," the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said in a statement.

In order to select the best talent from the market for appointment of two independent directors and one chairman for the Investment Manager Board, a searchcum-selection committee has been formed, it said.

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) Chairman Sukhbir Singh Sandhu is the convenor of the committee. 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 and Highways.