NHAI Launches Special Asset Monetisation Cell, Targets Rs 50,000 Crore Revenue In 2024-25

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has announced the establishment of an asset monetisation cell aimed at driving future monetisation plans and overseeing the monetisation of completed and operational highway assets. 

This move is designed to ensure the efficient and effective implementation of asset monetisation strategies.

According to an NHAI circular, the cell will be led by the NHAI member (finance) and will consist of both contractual and regular employees with expertise in finance, technical, techno-finance, commercial, and transport economics. 

Appointments to the cell will be for an initial period of two years, extendable up to a maximum of five years.

The primary responsibilities of the asset monetisation cell include advising NHAI on overall planning and methodology for asset monetisation, conducting market analysis, and feasibility studies to identify potential assets, particularly those with established toll collection records and high revenue generation potential. 

Additionally, the cell will be tasked with forming a public infrastructure investment trust, developing a comprehensive strategy document for NHAI's monetisation efforts, and engaging with investors, government bodies, and financial institutions to facilitate the monetisation process.

To assist investors in planning their investments efficiently and to expedite the monetisation process, NHAI has already identified and published an indicative list of 33 assets slated for monetisation during the 2024-25 fiscal year. These assets are expected to yield over Rs 50,000 crore in the current fiscal year,  reports Economic Times.

This initiative follows the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways' successful monetisation of assets worth Rs 40,314 crore in 2023-24, contributing to the Rs 97,000 crore monetisation receipts in the previous financial year.

Asset Monetisation

Asset monetisation is the process of creating new sources of revenue for the government and its entities by unlocking the economic value of unutilised or underutilised public assets. 

A public asset can be any property owned by a public body — roads, airports, railways, stations, pipelines, mobile towers, transmission lines, etc., or even land that remains unutilised.

Asset monetization is fundamentally different from 'privatisation' and 'slump sales' of assets. Instead, it involves 'structured partnerships' with the private sector, governed by well-defined contractual frameworks. 

The driver for asset monetisation is beyond its fiscal impact. It is not just a funding mechanism, but an overall paradigm shift in infrastructure operations, augmentation and maintenance.