Awaiting Finance Ministry approval for NHAI’s IPO launch: Nitin Gadkari

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Monday said the government is keen to take the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) public by listing its shares on the stock exchanges.

“It is in the process now… but I need approval from the finance ministry,” he said while addressing an event by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce. While a passing reference to listing NHAI, he said the government is confident of getting investor subscriptions of up to Rs 10 trillion.

The Rs 1,560-crore initial public offer of Cochin Shipyard was recently oversubscribed 76 times. Reiterating that he wants to use public money to build infrastructure, especially if banks are reluctant to do so, Gadkari said senior citizens can be given an additional coupon of 0.5 per cent.

Last week he had said he was against using foreign funds to build large infra projects but wanted to scoop up funds from the common-man.

Making public his reservations with bankers, who he claimed are taking up to 12 months for financial closure of a project, Gadkari said the NHAI has enough money to undertake projects by itself in the EPC mode.

Conceding that there were difficulties in the past like NPAs, he asked banks to be more forthcoming. “I like people who commit mistakes. I dislike honest people who don’t want to take a decision.”

The ministry has gone for the EPC mode in the Rs 44,000-crore Mumbai-Vadodara Expressway project, he said, asserting that there is no dearth of funds for such projects.

WITH PTI