MUMBAI: India Resurgence Fund (IndiaRF), promoted by Piramal Enterprises Ltd and Bain Capital Credit, along with international co-investors, on Monday announced an investment of $75 million (about Rs555 crore) in Thrissur Expressway Ltd (TEL), a part of Hyderabad based KMC Constructions Ltd (KMC).
The investment will be used to restructure TEL’s existing debt and for last mile financing to enable project completion.
“On completion, the project will significantly improve the connectivity between the key states of south India namely, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and will create significant efficiency as well as savings for both commercial and passenger traffic," said Shantanu Nalavadi, managing director, IndiaRF, adding that IndiaRF has the capital and the expertise to invest in similar opportunities that will provide effective solutions that address bottlenecks in infrastructure projects of national interest, resolve issues in the capital structure of such projects and support financial institutions.
TEL, a special purpose vehicle of KMC, is a 28-km highway project in Kerala, between Thrissur and Vadakkanchery. It is a part of the national highway that connects Kochi, Kerala and Salem, Tamil Nadu, passing through several important cities such as Erode, Coimbatore, Palakkad and Thrissur.
TEL was awarded the project in 2009, for widening the existing two lane stretch to six lanes, by the National Highway Authority of India under the Design, Build, Finance, Operate, and Transfer basis, for a concession period of 20 years.
Vikram Reddy, managing director, KMC Constructions, said, “The investment from IndiaRF comes at a critical juncture for project completion. We are confident of completion of the last mile and opening the entire stretch at the earliest so that it improves the connectivity between the towns and key states of South India."
Equirus Capital are the exclusive advisors to KMC on this Transaction.
