The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Ltd (NIIFL), on Monday has signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Development Board (TNIDB) for investment in infrastructure development in the southern state.
At present, seven projects have been identified across departments with potential investments for around Rs 5,000-6,000 crore,
Amongst the different initiatives outlined in the MoU, NIIFL intends to assist the state government in identifying potential private sector opportunities in asset recycling, developing greenfield and brownfield infrastructure projects in various sectors such as renewable energy, roads, waste management, water, tourism, and other related sectors, a statement said.
The development comes shortly after finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in November, exhorted NIIFL to explore opportunities under the National infra pipeline, PM Gati Shakti and the National Infra Corridor.
TNIDB is the nodal agency set up by the Government of Tamil Nadu to coordinate and promote infrastructure development in Tamil Nadu.
“NIIFL has been collaborating with the state government over the last year on a set of project ideas. This MoU formalizes our relationship with the Tamil Nadu government.’’ said, Prasad Gadkari, executive director, and chief strategy officer, NIIFL.
NIIFL’s ‘Strategic Initiatives and Policy Advisory’ (SIPA) which will be involved in the conceptualization and design of various projects in the MoU, is a team that provides strategic advice to central and state govt entities concerning such transactions.
NIIFL manages over $4.3 billion of equity capital across its three funds – Master Fund, Fund of Funds, and Strategic Opportunities Fund.
It also collaborates with various other central and state government ministries in evaluating and structuring investment opportunities in other areas such as healthcare, transport, renewables, urban infrastructure and new-age manufacturing.
Last week, the national fund announced its sixth investment in the aviation sector of the country by picking up an equity stake in GMR Goa International Airport for Rs 631 crore (around $76.5 million).
Last month, NIIF signed an MoU with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to promote Japanese investments in India and the partnership is aiming for an investment of around $500-700 million in a new bilateral India-Japan Fund (IJF).
It has been an active investor in several sustainable and climatetech companies previously with the likes of Ayana Renewable Power, IntelliSmart Infrastructure, Ather Energy, and the Green Growth Equity Fund as part of its portfolio.