Railways plans to monetise assets worth Rs 1.52 cr

The objective of the programme is to unlock the value of investments in brownfield public sector assets in the Railways and in other sectors by tapping into institutional and long-term patient capital, which can thereafter be leveraged for further public investments.

The Railways is looking at asset monetisation of Rs 1,52,496 crore under the national monetisation pipeline of Central ministries and public sector entities unveiled by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday.

The asset monetisation plan aims at tapping into private sector investment for new infrastructure creation and estimates a monetisation potential of Rs 6 lakh crore through core assets of the Central government over a four-year period from FY22 to FY25. The Railways is among the top five sectors, comprising 83% of the aggregate pipeline value.

Asked about the prospects of monetising passenger trains to usher in private players, Suneet Sharma, chairman and CEO of the Indian Railway Board, told FE that while the initial response of the private sector for passenger trains had been robust, there has been a slowdown due to the pandemic. “Most of the concerns have been taken care of and the station development programme is drawing a strong interest,” Sharma said.

The national transporter will target monetising assets worth Rs 17,810 crore in FY22, Rs 57,222 in FY23, Rs 44,907 in FY24 and Rs 32,557 crore in FY25. The monetisation plan includes projects like redevelopment of 400 railway stations, 90 passenger train operations, 1400 km of track-OHE InvIT, 265 good sheds, 741 km of Konkan Railway, four Hill Railways, 674 km of dedicated freight corridor and 15 railway stadiums.

The objective of the programme is to unlock the value of investments in brownfield public sector assets in the Railways and in other sectors by tapping into institutional and long-term patient capital, which can thereafter be leveraged for further public investments. New models like infrastructure investment trusts and real estate investment trusts will be used to unlock the value, which in turn will enable not just financial and strategic investors but also common people to participate in this asset class.