Reliable reports suggest that Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd will launch its Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) on April 29, 2021.
Though there has been no official announcement by PGCIL to this effect, it is learnt that the size of the initial public offering (IPO) would be around Rs.7,700 crore. PGCIL will become the first public sector entity to promote an InvIT.
PGCIL’s InvIT Journey
February 2019: The Union Budget 2019-20 emphasizes the need for innovative financing models, including infrastructure investment trusts (InvIT) for infrastructure development.
September 2020: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approves monetization of assets of PGCIL through the Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) model. With this, PGCIL becomes the first public sector undertaking under the Union power ministry to get such approval.
January 2021: Securities & Exchanges Board of India (SEBI) grants certificate of registration to “Powergrid Infrastructure Investment Trust”, an infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) sponsored by Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. The certificate of registration was granted on January 7, 2021, with the registration number of the infrastructure investment trust being “IN/InvIT/20-21/0016”.
January 2021: PGCIL files draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI for the proposed initial public offering (IPO) of Powergrid Infrastructure Investment Trust.
March 2021: Five assets have been identified for monetization with respect to the newly-formed Powergrid Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT), according to an investor presentation by Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL).
The five assets represent operational transmission assets developed by PGCIL, through wholly-owned subsidiaries acting as dedicated special purpose vehicles, under the build, own, operate, maintain (BOOM) modality. These projects were awarded to PGCIL under the tariff-based competitive bidding (TBCB) guidelines.
The five transmission assets (along with these commissioning dates) are:
- Powergrid Warora Transmission Ltd [July 2018]
- Powergrid Parli Transmission Ltd [June 2018]
- Powergrid Jabalpur Transmission Ltd [December 2018]
- Powergrid Kala Amb Transmission Ltd [July 2017]
- Powergrid Vizag Transmission Ltd [September 2016]
(Featured photograph, sourced from Ampion GmbH is for illustration only)