Major push for asset monetisation, govt set up dedicated pipeline

New Delhi, Feb 1 : Giving emphasis to asset monetisation amid pandemic-impacted revenue collection and increasing public expenditure, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday announced setting up of a National Monetisation Pipeline of potential brownfield infrastructure assets.
Presenting the Union Budget for 2021-22, the minister noted that monetising operating public infrastructure assets is a very important financing option for new infrastructure construction.
She also announced that an asset monetisation dashboard will also be created for tracking the progress and to provide visibility to investors.
Outlining some of the developments on that front, the minister, who presented her third budget, said that the National Highways Authority of India and PGCIL each have sponsored one InvIT that will attract international and domestic institutional investors.
Five operational roads with an estimated enterprise value of Rs 5,000 crore are being transferred to the NHAI InvIT. Similarly, transmission assets of a value of Rs 7,000 crore will be transferred to the PGCIL InvIT.
The Finance Minister also said that the railways will monetise Dedicated Freight Corridor assets for operations and maintenance, after their commissioning. The next lot of airports will be monetised for operations and management concession.