IRB Infrastructure Developers will act as project manager for two national highway stretches currently under its infrastructure investment trust in a deal valued at approximately Rs 2,663 crore. This includes the Solapur–Yedeshi and Gulabpura–Chittorgarh highway projects.
What did IRB Infrastructure announce?
The Mumbai-based road developer said its board, at a meeting held on July 2, approved entering into Project Implementation Agreements with IRB InvIT Fund and two of its project special purpose vehicles, Solapur Yedeshi Tollway and CG Tollway. Under the arrangement, IRB Infrastructure Developers will function as project manager for the two SPVs, according to the filing.
Which highway projects are covered under the agreement?
Solapur Yedeshi Tollway operates a 98.717-km stretch of NH-211, covering the four-laning of the Solapur to Yedeshi section in Maharashtra under the National Highways Development Project’s fourth phase. The road was built on a Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer toll basis, the filing mentioned.
CG Tollway holds the concession for a roughly 125-km section of NH-79 in Rajasthan, the six-laning of the Kishangarh-Udaipur-Ahmedabad corridor’s second package, from near Gulabpura to the Chittorgarh bypass, developed under the fifth phase of the highways programme on a Build-Operate-Transfer toll basis.
What are the terms of IRB Infrastructure’s Rs 2,663 crore deal?
The company will be paid approximately Rs 2,663 crore, inclusive of applicable taxes, on a fixed-price basis spread over the balance concession period of the two projects, which averages around 18 years on a weighted basis, the filing said.
The appointment is contingent on the completion of a separate transaction: the transfer of the entire equity share capital of both SPVs from IRB Infrastructure Trust to the public InvIT. The project manager role takes effect only once the transfer is finalised.
What is IRB InvIT Fund, and how is it linked to IRB Infrastructure?
IRB InvIT Fund, the public infrastructure investment trust referenced in the filing, holds a portfolio of road assets separate from IRB Infrastructure Trust, a private InvIT sponsored by the same group. The company did not specify a timeline for completion of the equity transfer that would trigger the project management agreements.