NIIF Invests Rs 3,036 crore In Navayuga Quazigund-Banihal Expressway Tunnel Road In Jammu And Kashmir

National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIFL), India's sovereign wealth fund with sectoral focus on infrastructure, has picked up a stake in tunnel road Navayuga Quazigund Expressway in Jammu and Kashmir for about Rs 3,036 crore (USD 380 million) to diversify its asset base.

''National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIFL) announces the acquisition of an equity stake in the Navayuga Quazigund Expressway Private Limited (NQEPL) through the NIIF Master Fund at an enterprise value of around USD 380 million. This acquisition further expands the fund's road portfolio and diversifies its asset base,'' a release said on Monday.

The company did not disclose the quantum of the stake it has acquired in NQEPL.

While the Indian government has 49% stake in NIIF, rest of ownership is held by marquee foreign and domestic investors and multilaterals, including ADIA, Temasek, OTPP, AustralianSuper and AIIB.

NQEPL was set up by Navayuga Engineering Company Limited and its road hold-co Navayuga Road Projects Private Limited (NRPPL). NECL is the flagship company of the Hyderabad based infrastructure development company Navayuga group.

The operational tunnel road in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir will now be managed by NIIF Master Fund's proprietary roads platform Athaang Infrastructure.

Quazigund-Banihal Expressway

NQEPL is one of the largest annuity projects awarded by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on a BOT (build-operate-transfer) basis. This project receives fixed, semi-annual payments from NHAI, providing stable and predictable cash flows, NIIFL said.

The four-laned 16.3 km NQEPL between Quazigund and Banihal section of NH-1A, includes a bi-directional 8.5 kilometres continuous twin-tube tunnel stretch, one of the longest highway tunnels in India. The road provides a vital link between the two important cities in the region, Jammu and Srinagar, enabling seamless movement of traffic and goods, with enhanced inter-region connectivity.

The road facilitates traffic movement in all weather conditions throughout the year and reduces significant travel time between the two cities.

NIIF Road Portfolio

NIIF Master Fund Managing Partner Vinod Giri said this addition is an important asset to the company's portfolio, which is also the first tunnel road acquired by it. ''This acquisition emphasises our focus on identifying fundamentally strong assets that offer long-term value creation. Operations and maintenance (O&M) of this asset require specialised technical and management expertise and are a testament to the strength of Athaang Infrastructure.

''Leveraging the team's strong underwriting capabilities and a well-structured investment approach, we will continue to build the NIIF Master Fund road portfolio with an efficient selection of high-quality assets and superior O&M practices,'' Giri added.

''India is home to the world's second-largest road network. The growing number of passengers and vehicles along with the need to further deepen connectivity in the country has propelled demand to widen the nation's road network. This has generated significant investment opportunities in strategic assets with strong fundamentals,'' Giri said.

NIIF Master Fund also holds the 6-laned Devanahalli Tollway in Bengaluru and the 4-laned Dichpally Tollway in Telangana. It is in various stages of acquiring a few other strategic road assets.

In addition to the road sector platform, NIIF Master Fund has also anchored platforms in ports and logistics, renewables, data centres, and energy smart meters sectors, the release said.