MoRTH plans to construct 12,500 km highways in FY 2023-24 & raise Rs 10,000-cr via InvIT
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) plans to construct 12,500 km of highways and raise Rs 10,000 crore via Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) mode in the current financial year. Alka Upadhyaya, Secretary, MoRTH, said that the ministry has taken up targets to award 12,000 km and construct 12,500 km of highways for 2023-24. Upadhyaya also mentioned that MoRTH has leveraged various innovative ways of funding its infrastructure projects by involving the private sector in highway construction. Rs 10,200 crore has already been raised through InvITs, while InvIT III is planned to be awarded in April 2023 for a total of Rs 10,000 crore, and an additional Rs 10,000 crore is planned to be raised through InvIT mode in FY 2023-24. Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) is an instrument on the pattern of mutual funds, designed to pool money from investors and invest in assets that will provide cash flows over a period of time.