NHAI Packs a Mega InvIT with Reservation for Retail

₹25,000 crore to be set aside for small investors; LI system for DPR awards to go

- Subhash Narayan & Utpal Bhaskar

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will set aside for retail investors ₹25,000 crore worth of units in its infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) issue this fiscal year, Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari said in an interview. The ambitious move to attract small investors to highways comes at a time the state-run road builder chases a target of building 10,000 km of highways and completing monetization of over ₹50,000 crore highway assets during the year.

Also, in a first, NHAI will skip the practice of selecting the lowest bidder to prepare detailed project reports (DPR) for highways, as it tries to attract better quality consultants.