Mumbai: India’s nodal highway agency, NHAI, has launched a new public investment manager (Public InvIT), the Raajmarg Infra Investment Managers Pvt. Ltd. (RIIMPL) aimed to raise capital and monetize highway projects in the country.
RIIMPL will manage funds for the proposed Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust (RIIT), an investment vehicle aimed at offering long-term investment opportunities for domestic and retail investors in the country.
This initiative is aimed at monetizing almost 1,500 kilometres of highways over the next 3-5 years, in partnership with leading financial institutions, including Axis Bank, SBI, Punjab National Bank, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, IndusInd Bank and Yes Bank.
The NHAI has been struggling to manage its debt, which reached almost ₹4 lakh crore a few years ago. After assistance from the Centre, the NHAI has managed to reduce that to about ₹2.5 lakh crore. This has reduced its ability to take on more loans, and with the high demand for capital needed to expand highways, the NHAI has been looking at Investment Vehicles (InvITs) as a solution to this challenge.
Institutional investors like pension funds, insurance firms, sovereign wealth funds and domestic institutions prefer these InvITs for their predictable yields, which can help them earn about 8-12% annual returns, while helping the NHAI address the capital needed to maintain the construction momentum.
Currently, the NHAI uses the Toll-Operate-Transfer (TOT) model to raise funds, with its NHAI already raising money through four rounds of private InvITs to lease operational highways to investors for 20-30 years.
In a major step toward strengthening road asset monetization and expanding investment opportunities in development of National Highway infrastructure, NHAI is in the process of establishing Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust (RIIT) as a Public InvIT. As part of this initiative, NHAI… pic.twitter.com/WUbU0BdyOt
— NHAI (@NHAI_Official) November 20, 2025
“NHAI has established a robust record in asset monetization. In recent years, we have successfully monetized assets worth ₹48,995 crore through the Toll-Operate-Transfer (TOT) model and raised around ₹43,638 crore across four rounds of Private InvITs, attracting major domestic and international investors. Over the next 3–5 years, around 1,500 km of completed and operational National Highways will be introduced into the Public InvIT, opening substantial investment avenues for the public. I am sure that this initiative will mark a new chapter of public participation in building the National Highway infrastructure in the country.” NHAI Chairman, Shri Santosh Kumar Yadav, said during the launch of RIIMPL in Mumbai.
