New Delhi, Nov 2 (IANS) The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Ltd (NIIFL) on Monday announced acquisition of the Essel Devanahalli Tollway and the Essel Dichpally Tollway through the NIIF Master Fund.
With this acquisition, the NIIF has taken its first step to build its portfolio in the roads and highways sector.
These projects will be managed by Athaang Infrastructure, NIIF’s proprietary roads platform.
The Essel Devanahalli Tollway is a strategic arterial 22 km six-lane toll road in Karnataka, connecting Bengaluru city and its airport. The road, part of NH44 (erstwhile NH7), with an operational history of over six years, is well poised to cater to the growing needs of Bengaluru city and the airport and will benefit from the growth potential of Bengaluru as a metropolitan city.
Essel Dichpally Tollway is a 60 km four lane toll road in Telangana. A mature asset, operational for over seven years, this road is an important link between two key industrial hubs, Hyderabad and Nagpur, and serves long distance commercial traffic.
In addition to the road sector platform, NIIF Master Fund has also anchored platforms in the ports and logistics, renewables, and energy smart meters sectors.
Vinod Giri, Managing Partner, NIIF, said: “NIIF is pleased to announce its first investment in the roads sector. Athaang will invest in strategic assets and develop a portfolio including mature operational assets, annuities/hybrid annuities, large size expressways and highways with greenfield and brownfield expansion requirements. Athaang’s objective is to emerge as the preferred partner for stakeholders in the Indian roads sector.”
NIIFL is a collaborative investment platform for international and Indian investors, anchored by the Indian government. It invests across asset classes such as infrastructure, private equity and other diversified sectors in India, with the objective to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for its investors.
The company currently manages over $4.3 billion of equity capital commitments across its three funds – Master Fund, Fund of Funds and Strategic Opportunities Fund.
–IANS
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