Govt Taps Private Funds for Roads

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is considering a significant increase in its highway monetization target for fiscal year 2027 (FY27), potentially raising it by ₹15,000-20,000 crore. This adjustment stems from a decision to incorporate private investment mobilized through Build-Operate-Transfer (BoT) projects into the government's monetization program. This move could propel highway monetization collections beyond ₹50,000 crore in FY27, surpassing the current target of approximately ₹35,000 crore and aligning with the government's broader National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) 2.0.

The NMP 2.0 framework estimates an aggregate monetization potential of ₹16.72 trillion by FY30, including ₹5.8 trillion in private sector investment. The inclusion of greenfield assets like highway awards under the BoT route marks a departure from the traditional approach, which primarily focused on monetizing operational assets through Toll-Operate-Transfer (ToT) bundles and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs).

In FY26, the ministry realized close to ₹29,000 crore in monetization proceeds. The government aims to award approximately 10,000 km of national highways in FY27, with about a quarter expected under the BoT (toll) model. While these projects represent a significant awarded value, the actual investment counted towards monetization in FY27 is projected to be between ₹15,000-20,000 crore, depending on the pace of capital deployment by private investors.