An NHAI-appointed search-cum-selection committee, headed by ace banker Deepak Parekh, has recommended former IDBI chairman B Sriram for the post of chairman of the investment manager company that NHAI has set up to manage its Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs).
The committee has also recommended MP Sharma, former technical member of NHAI; Shailendra Roy, ex-CEO & MD, L&T Power; and Suresh Goyal, former India head for Macquarie Group; as independent directors of the company, National Highways Infra Investment Managers.
The committee has also suggested Goyal to be considered for a full-time role of the company as managing director or chief executive officer. The Cabinet had in December last year authorised NHAI to launch InvITs to enable it to monetise national highways that have a track record of toll collection for at least one year. In the Budget for 2020-21, NHAI was authorised to monetise “at least 12 lots of highway bundles of 6,000 km within 2024”.
Apart from InvIT, NHAI may use the toll-operate-transfer (TOT) and toll securitisation routes to monetise these public-funded highway assets. Experts say monetisation of these assets may help NHAI to raise up to Rs 60,000 crore, at an annual average of Rs 15,000 crore. NHAI had earlier said it would launch the first InvIT in the first quarter of 2020-21 with the aim of raising Rs 5,000-6,000 crore.
NHAI needs additional funds as it is increasingly awarding projects though the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) route, where it is to bear all the expenses. It is in dire need of funds also to finance its burgeoning debt which touched Rs 2.28 lakh crore at the end of February, 2020.
