New Delhi, Aug 6 : The NHAI achieved a significant financial milestone with the successful pre-payment of a bank loan amounting to Rs 15,700 crore which has enabled it to save as much as Rs 1,000 crore in interest, the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways said on Tuesday.

With the retiring of this debt ahead of schedule, the outstanding debt liability of NHAI has come down to around Rs 3,20,000 crore, according to an official statement.

The sum of Rs. 15,700 crore was generated in FY 2023-24 through InvIT.

Government rules stipulate that InvIT proceeds have to be used exclusively for NHAI debt repayment. During the financial year 2024 -25, NHAI intends to monetise projects worth Rs 15,000-20,000 crore through InvIT.

With this, the overall debt liability of NHAI is expected to further reduce to around Rs 3,00,000 crore at the end of fiscal 2025.

As a part of the robust debt payment plan and using InvIT monetisation proceeds, NHAI has been actively engaging with the lender banks to reduce interest rates.

As a result, banks have reduced their interest rate from 8-8.10 per cent to 7.58-7.59 per cent. In this process, bank loans where interest rates could not be reduced, have been repaid Rs. 15,700 crore and this will result in significant interest savings of around Rs 1,000 crore, the statement said.

Robust asset monetisation proceeds, along with effective financial planning, indicate a strong financial performance of the NHAI. The savings realised from this debt reduction will play a pivotal role in advancing ongoing and future National Highway projects, the statement added.

Infrastructure investment trusts have gained popularity in recent years amid India ramping up its infrastructure spending to bolster economic growth. The NHAI had earlier raised about Rs 16,000 crore by monetising its assets of 889 kilometres of toll roads. The NHAI, which handles 983 toll plazas, has set a target of building 10,421 km of new national highways in the current fiscal year. It plans to spend nearly Rs 1.68 lakh crore on highway projects in the current fiscal year, funded through the Union Budget, toll collections and monetisation of assets.

/IANS