India’s NHAI InvIT gets INR18bn top-up from CPP Investments

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) has topped up its investment in the National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) with an additional INR18.2bn (€201.8m).

Following the current transaction, CPP Investments will continue to hold 25% of the units in InvIT, and will lift the Canadian investor’s total investment in the Indian infrastructure investment trust to INR36.8bn.

The capital from CPP Investments represents a portion of NHAI InvIT’s capital raise conducted via an institutional placement. The proceeds will be used to acquire seven brownfield toll roads, currently owned by NHAI, as part of Government of India’s national monetisation pipeline (NMP).

The Indian government’s NMP unlocks the value of public infrastructure by leasing core assets to private entities. These assets span various sectors, including roads, railways, airports, power grids, energy, warehousing, and even sporting facilities.

The newly acquired toll roads will increase the size of InvIT’s portfolio from eight to 15 toll roads – all of which have been acquired from NHAI.

James Bryce, managing director and head of infrastructure at CPP Investments, said: “India remains a key market for CPP Investments and infrastructure is vital to the country’s economic growth.

He said the follow-on investment in InvIT “deepens our commitment to this highly scalable platform”, which has an important role to play in the continued expansion of the Indian road network”.

Bryce added: “We are confident that this investment will continue to deliver high-quality infrastructure across India while generating strong risk-adjusted returns for the CPP Fund.

CPP Investments first invested in InvIT in 2018 with a C$200m (€135.7m) commitment.  

The Canadian investor’s commitment to India’s infrastructure sector dates back to 2014 when it invested an initial INR10bn in L&T Infrastructure Development Projects Limited, a company that owned the largest toll-road concession portfolio in India as well as a power transmission line project and a metro project in Hyderabad.

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