A Japanese joint venture is making moves to enter India’s growing public-private partnership (PPP) road sector, a first for Japan’s infrastructure industry.

JFE Engineering Corporation and Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport & Urban Development will invest in four road-operating subsidiaries of India’s DP Jain & Co. Infrastructure and establish a special purpose vehicle called Japan India Road LLC to support them.

JFE said it will be the first time a Japanese construction company participates in Indian road PPPs.

“Through this project, we aim to gain experience and build a track record in India’s road PPP market,” the company said.

The four subsidiaries currently operate around 600km of PPP road lanes, with eight years remaining on their concession contract periods.

The new joint venture will seek more PPP contracts.

The Indian government is encouraging the PPP model to expand infrastructure. It uses private finance to provide capital funding for schemes.

With PPP roads, investors recover their costs and earn profit through tolls or annuities.

Between 1990 and 2022, road PPP projects worth just under $99bn reached financial close, according to the Asian Development Bank.

Road PPPs were second only to energy PPPs by value in the period; energy PPPs totalled $157.5bn, the bank said.