The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has to mobilise ₹75,000 crore this year, against ₹61,000 crore last year. The funds will be routed to construct highways under the Bharatmala project. The NHAI and National Infrastructure Investment Fund (NIIF) on Monday signed an MoU, which will allow NIIF to route international funds to NHAI. As per the broad contours, the two organisations will form a special purpose vehicle, through which NIIF will route funds to specific projects of NHAI. NIIF, which had bid for first toll-operate-transfer (TOT) project of NHAI but did not win it, is open to participating in various projects including hybrid annuity projects.

Simultaneously, NHAI is also considering an option to list InVIT, Infrastructure Investment Trust.

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari hoped that NIIF, which was announced four years ago in 2015, will make faster decisions about its investments in NHAI since highways authority has a lot of appetite for absorbing funds. “It would be better if you could think of extending a line of credit to NHAI, from which it can draw down funds when required,” he said.

Gadkari said NHAI will raise funds through various routes from its projects including one option that involves selling rights to set up petrol pumps in land parcels along the expressways. NHAI could earn a share of commission from each litre of fuel sold.

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