Govt To Construct Over 50,000 km Of Highways

Calling InvIT as an attractive vehicle for mobilising funds for road infrastructure, the government on Friday said that it is planning to construct over 50,000 km of highways.

"Addressing a meeting of leading and large investor groups in New Delhi last evening, Secretary - Road Transport and Highways Shri Giridhar Aramane said, the Ministry has plans for construction of over 50 thousand kilometres of Highways, a majority of those will be 4 and 6 lanes wide," the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said in a statement.

The secretary called upon the investors to consider that InvIT has scope for broad basing the investor groups.

While addressing an investors' meet on Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT), Aramane said it promises to be an attractive vehicle for mobilising funds for road development and assured investors that the asset base of InvIT will be selected carefully to yield attractive returns and mitigate inherent risks.

He said the proposed roads have a long history of tolling and thus the price discovery is likely to be handsome.

The secretary also assured that efforts will be made to facilitate realisation of value for investment, the statement said.

Aramane added that the functioning of the investment manager will be democratised by bringing investing partners into board of directors to manage the company in a professional manner.

He said the project managers will also be selected on professional and efficiency basis.

InvITs are instruments on the pattern of mutual funds and are designed to pool small sums of money from a number of investors to invest in assets that give cash flow over a period of time.

The Union Cabinet has already approved setting up of InvIT.