Mumbai, Aug. 15 -- National Highways Infra Trust (NHIT), the infrastructure investment vehicle of India's highways manager, is planning to raise up to Rs.9,000 crore through private bond placements to refinance debt and cut borrowing costs, two people aware of the matter said

The fundraise will kick off in the coming two to three months, these people added. The move comes as top-rated issuers increasingly tap the bond market to capitalise on falling yields.

Currently, the trust has about Rs.21,700 crore of outstanding debt-mostly bank loans-with a blended cost of borrowing around 8% per annum. The loans are from State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Axis Bank, and IDBI Bank, among others, per data from Care Ratings Ltd.

NHIT can p...