NHAI to Garner Rs 35,000-40,000 Crore from Road Assets FY26

New Delhi : The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is likely to garner Rs 35,000-40,000 crore in FY26 if it monetises the identified road assets in a timely manner, according to a report on Wednesday.

The estimate is based on the median valuation multiple of 0.62 times observed across 10 awarded toll-operate-transfer (TOT) bundles over the last three years.

This figure would represent a significant increase from the Rs 24,399 crore monetised in FY2025. It would also exceed the FY2026 budgeted monetisation target of Rs 30,000 crore, the report by ratings agency ICRA stated.

“The NHAI has mainly used two asset monetisation mechanisms, TOT and Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT), since FY2019. The authority has raised Rs 92,633 crore through these channels up to FY2025,” said Vinay Kumar G, Sector Head, Corporate Ratings, ICRA.

TOT generated 53 per cent of NHAI’s total monetisation during FY2019-FY2025. InvIT, introduced in FY2022, has expanded its share over the past two years.

Since FY2023, NHAI has published annual lists of assets designated for monetisation.

“Between FY2023 and FY2025, NHAI announced approximately 7,000 km for monetisation. It has completed about 2,000 km and offered an additional 1,170 km for sale through five TOT bundles. The authority still needs to monetise nearly 3,750 km made available during this period,” Kumar added.

NHAI has identified a strong pipeline of projects for monetisation, including five TOT bundles with initiated bids. It also plans to transfer project stretches to the InvIT it established.

ICRA’s analysis shows that valuation multiples varied between 0.46 and 0.93 times across the 10 awarded TOT bundles over the past three years, with a median of 0.62 times.

The average concession period has been 20 years, and toll collection for the underlying assets has ranged from 4 to 15 years, with a median of 10 years.

Using this multiple, monetising the existing assets along with TOT bundles and assets identified in FY2026 could generate Rs 35,000-40,000 crore, bringing total monetisation since inception to around Rs 1.3 lakh crore.

“The National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) set a target of approximately Rs 53,366 crore with a total monetisable length of 8,894 km for FY2025, while the FY2025 Budget projected Rs 30,000 crore,” Kumar concluded.

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