The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is planning to set up the first infrastructure investment trust (InVIT) in the highways sector worth Rs 5,000 crore by mid-May.

NHAI submitted a proposal to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to set up the first InVIT, and the authority said it expects to launch the first tranche of the InVIT by the middle of next month.

Apart from the Rs 5,000 crore InVIT, the government is also focusing on toll-operate-transfer (ToT) and securitisation for highway assets monetisation. The total InVIT, ToT and securitisation could amount to Rs 18,000 crore in 2021-22, according to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

The union cabinet had authorised NHAI to use InVITs as one of the preferred modes for raising long term finance for investment in the highways sector in 2019.

InVITs are required to invest at least 80% of their corpus in operational assets and to ensure that 90% of the cash flows from operations are distributed to the investors, as per the regulations. This essentially divests the InVITs from the construction risks in infrastructure projects.

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