Highways Infrastructure Trust (HIT), an infrastructure investment trust owned by KKR, has successfully acquired four road assets from Macquarie India for a sum of Rs 3,000 crore. The Economic Times reported that Adani Road Transport’s initial plan to acquire the assets for Rs 3,100 crore fell through due to unsatisfactory conditions.
The acquired road assets include Gujarat Road & Infrastructure (GRICL) and Swarna Tollway (STPL), each owning two toll roads. GRICL’s toll roads are situated in Gujarat, covering the Ahmedabad-Mehsana stretch on SH-41 and the Vadodara-Halol stretch on SH-87 within the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor. STPL’s assets are in Andhra Pradesh, comprising the Tada-Nellore stretch on NH-16 and the Nandigama-Ibrahimpatnam-Vijayawada stretch on NH-65, which provides feeder traffic to NH16.
With KKR holding an 89.99 percent stake in HIT, it is poised to secure a 316-km-long highway asset through the ToT 12 auction by the National Highways Authority of India. HIT’s portfolio currently consists of six road assets covering over 450 km, and after the recent acquisitions, it is expected to have about 15 roads aggregating approximately 1,000 km.
As per ICRA, FY24 is projected to witness a 16-21 percent increase in road execution activity, with toll collections anticipated to grow by 6-9 percent, supported by a 4-5 percent rise in traffic.
