The national highway authority of India (NHAI) under the ministry of roads and highways is working on a financial product to provide an opportunity to even small time investors in the country to take part in the National Monetisation Pipeline programme of the government which aims to encourage private investment in infrastructure assets including expressways, railways, ports etc.
Minister for Roads and Highways Nitin Gadkari who announced this at Accelerating India Economic Growth, a seminar organised by The Hindu Business Line said the NHAI is planning a bond which will enable the small investor to invest a minimum of Rs one lakh or above. “We are trying to provide an opportunity to the common man in India to invest in infrastructure projects and get a steady return. The proposal is now before the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for approval. Our aim is to give 7.5-8 percent interest to investors which is higher than the interest rates offered by the banks on term deposits currently,” he said.
Regarding the monetisation of road projects, Mr Gadkari debunked the opinion of a journalist of The Businessline that road monetisation hasn’t happened despite that happening in other sectors. The minister said 26 percent target was given to road sector and we have monetised projects worth around 35 thousand. There is no dearth of investment, in road projects earmarked for monetisation. However, a majority of investments are from foreign countries including pension funds. It is against this backdrop that I am opening the sector for small Indian investors. “Every year we make five lakh core worth roads, FM has given us 1.25 lakh crore. The NHAI has nod earth of funds. Banks are willing to give loans. Our annual toll income is now Rs 40,000 crore. It is expected to go up to Rs 1.4 lakh crore in the next five years, he added.
Gadkari said the NHAI is facing a lot of problems in Tamil Nadu and Kerala on highway construction. However, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan is very proactive and is taking initiative in land acquisition. So we are investing in a large scale in Kerala, he added.
