France’s Vinci makes $1.7 billion entry into India toll roads

French infrastructure group Vinci has agreed to buy Safeway Concessions, a portfolio of nine toll-road assets in India, from Macquarie Asset Management in a deal valued at about Rs15,000 crore ($1.6 billion to $1.7 billion), marking one of the country’s biggest toll-road sales to date and giving the company its first foothold in India’s roads sector.

Vinci Highways, a unit of Vinci Concessions, said the portfolio spans nearly 700 kilometers of toll highways in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, with financial closing expected by the end of 2026.

The assets sit inside India’s Toll-Operate-Transfer, or TOT, privatization program, under which private investors pay upfront for the right to operate and maintain completed highway stretches.

Macquarie said it invested in Safeway in 2018 through its Macquarie Asia Infrastructure Fund 2 and built the platform into a scaled operating business, describing the sale as one of the largest toll-road divestments in India so far.

For Vinci, the acquisition is a way into one of the world’s fastest-growing transport markets.

The company said the roads serve industrial, agricultural and logistics corridors and offer room for traffic growth and operational improvement.

Macquarie called the sale a milestone in India’s road monetization story.

Verena Lim, co-head of Asia-Pacific infrastructure at Macquarie Asset Management and Asia chief executive for Macquarie Group, said India’s road market continues to offer long-term opportunities across transport, digital and energy infrastructure.