New Delhi (ABC Live): The National Highways Authority of India has released a tentative list of operational National Highway assets for monetisation during Financial Year 2026–27. The list covers 17 road assets with a combined length of 1,692.5 km under the Toll-Operate-Transfer and Infrastructure Investment Trust routes. However, NHAI has kept assets proposed for monetisation through Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust outside this list.

This announcement matters because it gives investors an early view of NHAI’s likely asset pipeline. However, NHAI has not released the final monetisation package. Instead, the document works as a tentative investor-signalling list. The NHAI letter dated 26 May 2026 states that the competent authority will decide on the final bundling of assets later.

Therefore, the issue goes beyond raising money from roads. It also concerns how India values public infrastructure, protects toll users, attracts long-term capital, and maintains public accountability over revenue-generating highways.

Why ABC Live Is Publishing This Report Now

ABC Live is publishing this report now because highway monetisation has moved from a policy idea to a recurring infrastructure-finance tool.

Moreover, the timing matters. NHAI has placed the tentative list in the public domain before final bundling. As a result, investors, bidders, analysts, road users, and policy observers can examine the asset base before the bidding process moves forward.

At the same time, public scrutiny remains necessary. National Highways remain public assets even when the NHAI transfers tolling and operational rights through financial contracts. Therefore, the monetisation debate must look beyond upfront proceeds. It must examine toll fairness, maintenance quality, concession design, traffic assumptions, climate risk, and long-term policy flexibility.

What NHAI Has Actually Released

The official NHAI letter dated 26 May 2026 states that the competent authority has finalised a tentative list of road assets for monetisation through the TOT/InvIT mode in FY 2026–27. It also says the competent authority will decide the bundling of these assets later.

In addition, the annexure states that NHAI has earmarked the listed assets for monetisation only through TOT/NHIT. It does not include assets proposed under Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust. NHAI has also reserved the right to add, modify, or delete stretches from the list.

Consequently, readers should not treat the list as a final concession map. They should read it as a preliminary asset universe for FY27 monetisation planning.

NHAI FY27 Monetisation Dashboard

Project-Wise List of Highway Assets

The Aligarh–Kanpur section of NH-34 in Uttar Pradesh is the longest listed asset at 283.8 km. By contrast, the Aurangabad–Karodi section of NH-52 in Maharashtra is the shortest listed asset at 30.4 km.

What TOT Means

Under the Toll-Operate-Transfer model, the government does not sell the highway. Instead, it grants a concessionaire the right to operate, maintain, and collect toll from an already operational road asset for a fixed period.

In return, the concessionaire usually pays an upfront amount. Therefore, NHAI receives immediate capital, while the private operator receives rights to future toll revenue.

This model works best when NHAI and bidders rely on sound traffic data, stable road quality, and clear concession terms. However, inflated traffic assumptions can create financial stress later.

What InvIT Means

An Infrastructure Investment Trust is a trust structure that holds infrastructure assets. Investors buy units in the trust and receive returns from income generated by those assets.

In the highway sector, toll revenue can flow into the trust and then move to investors as returns. As a result, long-term investors such as pension funds, sovereign funds, insurance firms, and infrastructure funds can invest in operational road assets.

However, InvITs also convert public toll income into a financial yield product. Therefore, regulators and public authorities must ensure strong governance and disclosure.

ABC Live Backgrounder: Why NHIT Matters

ABC Live has earlier analysed the National Highways Infra Trust as a key part of India’s highway monetisation framework. That report explains how NHIT pools toll revenue from existing highways and distributes returns to investors through a SEBI-regulated Infrastructure Investment Trust structure.

Readers may refer to ABC Live’s earlier backgrounder: National Highways Infra Trust Performance Audit.

That report matters for the present FY27 list because the new NHAI document again shows how operational public roads can move into structured monetisation. Therefore, the current list should be read as part of India’s larger road-finance shift, not as a routine administrative update.

Why NHAI Is Monetising Operational Roads

NHAI needs large and continuous capital for highway expansion, maintenance, land acquisition, debt servicing, and future corridor development. Budgetary support alone cannot carry the entire burden.

Therefore, asset monetisation allows NHAI to recycle capital. Mature highways with established toll revenue can generate funds for new infrastructure without waiting for fresh budgetary allocations.

In principle, this model follows sound infrastructure-finance logic. A completed road generates revenue. NHAI can then use that revenue to support the next phase of infrastructure creation. However, the model works only when NHAI values assets fairly and protects the public interest.

The Investor Logic

For investors, operational highways look attractive because they already carry traffic. Unlike greenfield projects, they do not carry the same level of construction risk.

Moreover, toll roads can offer predictable cash flows. If concession terms remain stable, such assets can suit long-term investors looking for regular returns.

However, investor interest will depend on final bundling. A high-traffic corridor may attract strong bids. A weaker stretch may need bundling support. Therefore, the later bundling decision will shape the real market response.

The Public-Interest Logic

For the public, the key question is different. Road users do not judge a monetisation plan by investor yield. They judge it by road safety, toll fairness, travel time, maintenance quality, and grievance redressal.

Therefore, NHAI’s concession design must prevent monetisation from becoming a toll-extraction model. It must remain an asset-management model with clear service duties.

In addition, road users need better disclosure. They should know why tolls continue, how long the concession will run, what maintenance standards apply, and where they can file complaints.

State-Wise Policy Reading

Critical Issue 1: This Is Not Privatisation, But It Is Not Neutral Either

NHAI’s model does not transfer ownership of highways. Therefore, it would be inaccurate to call it outright privatisation.

However, the model is not neutral. Once NHAI transfers toll revenue rights through a concession or trust structure, public policy choices become more complex. Toll reduction, exemption, waiver, or traffic diversion can affect investor returns.

As a result, the government must balance two duties. It must honour contracts. At the same time, it must protect road users and retain public policy flexibility.

Critical Issue 2: Valuation Is the Core Test

Asset monetisation succeeds only when NHAI values assets fairly.

If NHAI undervalues an asset, the public loses future revenue. However, if bidders overvalue an asset, the concession may face financial stress. Later, this may create pressure for toll hikes, compensation claims, renegotiation, or reduced maintenance spending.

Therefore, NHAI should disclose the broad basis of traffic assumptions, toll revenue estimates, concession duration, maintenance duties, and risk allocation.

Critical Issue 3: Bundling Can Change the Whole Economics

NHAI has clearly stated that the competent authority will decide final bundling later.

Bundling can make or break investor interest. NHAI may bundle a profitable highway stretch with a lower-yield stretch to balance risk. Conversely, too much weak bundling may reduce bid appetite.

Therefore, NHAI should explain the logic of each final bundle. The public should know whether NHAI bases bundling on geography, traffic profile, toll revenue, maintenance need, or risk balancing.

Critical Issue 4: Toll Users Need a Voice

Toll users remain the most affected stakeholders. Yet the present monetisation process gives them little direct voice.

This gap matters because toll revenue supports investor returns. Therefore, toll-paying users deserve stronger service guarantees. These guarantees should cover lane availability, pavement quality, lighting, ambulance response, accident management, public toilets, FASTag dispute resolution, and transparent complaint tracking.

Moreover, service failure should trigger measurable penalties. Otherwise, monetisation may reward toll collection without improving road-user welfare.

Critical Issue 5: Maintenance Cannot Be Sacrificed for Yield

Operational highways require constant maintenance. Heavy vehicles, weather-related stress, flooding, poor drainage, and traffic growth can quickly degrade roads.

Therefore, concession agreements must lock in maintenance duties. Operators should not improve returns by cutting maintenance expenditure.

In addition, NHAI should publish asset-wise maintenance data periodically. This would help road users, investors, and regulators assess whether monetisation improves or weakens road quality.

Critical Issue 6: Climate and Disaster Risks Need Disclosure

Many Indian highways face flood, heat, landslide, drainage, and extreme-weather risks. These risks can affect toll revenue, repair costs, safety, and travel reliability.

Therefore, NHAI should include climate-risk disclosure in highway monetisation documents. This matters especially where assets cross flood-prone, riverine, mining, or high-rainfall zones.

Without such disclosure, investors may misprice risk, while users may suffer service disruptions.

Critical Issue 7: RIIT Exclusion Needs Clear Communication

The NHAI annexure states that the present list does not include assets for monetisation under Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust.

This distinction matters. Investors need to know which assets will move through TOT, which assets will move through NHIT or InvIT structures, and which assets will go to RIIT.

Therefore, NHAI should publish clear, separate pipelines for each route. Otherwise, the market may see the asset pipeline as fragmented or incomplete.

What NHAI Should Disclose Before Bidding

Ground Reality vs Policy Claim

Why the FY27 List Matters Beyond Roads

This list matters because India is creating a repeatable model for monetising public infrastructure. Highways form one part of that larger shift.

If the model works well, it can reduce pressure on public borrowing, attract patient capital, and improve asset management. However, weak governance can create long-term revenue lock-in, user dissatisfaction, and policy rigidity.

Therefore, FY27 may become a test year. It will show whether India can deepen infrastructure finance while maintaining public-interest discipline.

ABC Live Editorial View

NHAI’s FY27 highway monetisation list sends an important signal in infrastructure finance. It shows that India wants to use operational assets more actively to fund future development.

However, the strength of the model will not depend only on the money raised. It will depend on fair valuation, clear bundling, strong maintenance, toll-user protection, and transparent reinvestment.

Therefore, ABC Live reads this document as a policy opportunity with governance risks. It can help India build roads faster. However, without safeguards, it can also convert public highways into long-term revenue contracts with limited public visibility.

ABC Live Takeaway

The FY27 NHAI list is not the final monetisation package. It is a tentative investor-signalling list covering 17 operational highway assets across 1,692.5 km.

The policy direction is clear. NHAI wants to recycle capital from mature assets and use private and institutional investment for future road expansion. However, the public-interest test is equally clear. Every monetisation round must protect toll users, disclose valuation logic, enforce maintenance standards, and preserve policy flexibility.

In short, India can monetise highways. However, it must not monetise public accountability.

How We Verified

ABC Live reviewed the official NHAI PDF dated 26 May 2026, including the covering letter and the annexure listing 17 road assets for FY 2026–27 monetisation under TOT/InvIT mode. ABC Live also reviewed its earlier backgrounder on National Highways Infra Trust to connect the present list with India’s broader highway InvIT model.

Sources and Resources

1. NHAI Official PDF: Tentative list of road assets for monetisation in FY 2026–27 under TOT/InvIT mode.
2. ABC Live Internal Link: National Highways Infra Trust Performance Audit.
   Read ABC Live’s NHIT backgrounder