IRB Infrastructure Trust and Cube Highways emerged as the highest bidders for two bundles of highways being monetised by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) using the Toll Operate Transfer (TOT) model, sources said on Thursday.
For the highways grouped under Bundle 13, IRB’s bid of Rs 1,683 crore came in at the top, while for Bundle 14, Cube put in the highest bid of Rs 7,701 crore, allowing NHAI to raise a total of Rs 9384 crore as upfront revenue.
In October the NHAI had raised Rs 6,584 crore by monetising highways in Bundle 11 and 12. Cube Highways had won the bid for Bundle 11 and IRB Infrastructure for Bundle 12.
In all the agency will end up raising Rs 15,968 crore by monetisation through ToT this year as against the target of Rs 10,000 crore set. However, internally NHAI was aiming to net close to Rs 25,000 crore through this route, to augment its internal resources.
While NHAI is planning to come out with another tender for monetisation of highway stretches through ToT this financial year, the transaction is expected to be completed by next financial year.
In all there were five bidders for ToT Bundle 13 including Adani Road Transport, Cube Highways and National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF). For bundle 14 there were six bidders which also included Adani, NIIF and private equity firm KKR backed Highways Infrastructure Trust.
In Bundle 13 highway stretches on offer include Kota Bypass and Cable stay bridge on NH 76 in Rajasthan and Gwalior Jhansi section and a section of NH-75 (New NH 44) in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Total length of highways in this bundle is 110 km.
The highways in this bundle 14 include high traffic density stretches of Delhi-Meerut Expressway of 60 km and Delhi Hapur section of 50 km. It also includes a highway stretch in Odisha on Binjabahal Teleibani section.
In addition, NHAI aims to raise another Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 15,000 crore by monetisation through National Highways Infrastructure Trust and Rs around Rs 15,000 crore via the SPV route.
Recently it announced the rest of the total internal monetisation target of Rs 45,000 crore in the current financial year will be through asset-backed securitisation.
The contract period for ToT is 20 years in which concessionaires are required to maintain and operate the stretch. In return, they get to collect the toll fee. The first award of highways under ToT was done in 2018. Since then Rs 32,950 crore has been raised through this route by transferring 2014 km of highways to outside investors.