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investors have forayed into this area as well with
fund managers like I Squared Capital setting
up platforms to bid for these long-term city gas
distribution projects.
India has created various other asset classes
which are opportunities for institutional investors.
One very interesting model that is currently being
tested out in the country is procurement of rolling
stock (coaches) for metro operations. Delhi Metro
is the largest metro establishment in the country
with metro running over 216 kms in the city of New
Delhi. Till date, this entity has been procuring rolling
stock by way of funding received from Japan by way
of G2G lending.
With the view of becoming self-sustainable in
the future, Delhi Metro identified a model where in
rolling stock will be made available to it on a lease
basis where payment is made based on availability
of trains. This model has been created with the
view to attract long term patient capital owners
such as institutional investors who can partner with
rolling stock manufacturers to provide trains under
a PPP model instead of upfront procurement. After
elaborate stakeholder discussions, the model is
being tested out for the first project for 100 coaches
in March this year. Once this becomes successful,
the same model will be adopted for metros to be
constructed in more than 50 cities in the country.
This alone is an asset class worth more than $ 20 Bn.
These are just a few examples of the way the
infrastructure assets have evolved in India. The
Government is right now working aggressively on
identification of various other asset classes which
can be monetized in similar fashion. Asset classes
being evaluated are transmission lines, warehouses,
oil strategic reserves and telecom towers to name
a few.
The most tangible evidence of a nation’s progress
is its infrastructure. The world has witnessed how
highways turned around the US economy; how
ports and shipping gave the much-needed impetus
to China. It is now India’s turn.

At Invest India, the National Investment Promotion and
Facilitation Agency of India, Prerna Soni heads the
Infrastructure team as well as a special team setup for
the Financial Investors Initiative which attracts institutional
investors

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