Highway infra trust to raise ₹15,000 cr; halts bond sale plan

The National Highways Infrastructure Trust (NHIT), promoted by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), will raise around ₹15,000 crore through a mix of debt and equity for acquisition of the next round of assets in the next two months, a senior official said.

- Mukesh Jagota

The debt will be raised from banks and financial institutions. The plan to borrow a part of the funds for acquisition of assets through the sale of bonds to the public has been shelved.

Earlier the NHIT had expressed its intention to raise ₹3,000 from the public this year. "The public issue of bonds will now come in the next financial year," the official who did not wish to be named said.

The NHIT had done its first public issue of bonds in October 2022, raising ₹1,500 crore. This money was used to acquire highway assets worth ₹2,850 crore. Subsequently, there has been no public fund raising by the trust.