InvITs In Road Sector Enhance Credit Quality Of About Rs 46,000 Crore Debt: Crisil Ratings

Aided by regulatory guardrails and structural benefits, infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) in the road sector have enhanced the credit quality of around Rs 46,000 crore debt till now, credit rating agency Crisil said on Tuesday.
    
According to Crisil, since 2016, 19 InvITs have been registered in India and these include 11 from the roads sector of which nine have been floated or are set to be launched soon.
    
These nine comprise 94 road assets valued over Rs 1.1 lakh crore, it said, adding that toll roads account for 70 per cent of this while annuity, annuity plus toll and hybrid annuity models comprise 13 per cent, 11 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively.
    
Historically, Crisil said credit profiles of toll roads had seen challenges, such as high leverage, long delays in construction and lower-than-expected traffic. 
    
InvITs have addressed many of these problems, it added.