AustralianSuper today committed AUD 500m to India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), to be invested in NIIF’s second infrastructure fund, according to a statement and a source familiar.

The pension fund’s investment follows an allocation of INR 300bn (USD 3.2bn) by the Indian government last week to the NIIF. About half of this is meant for NIIF Infrastructure Fund II, the source familiar said.

A first close of the second and latest NIIF master fund is imminent, he said without providing details.

NIIF Infrastructure Fund II targets a total corpus of INR 300bn, according to a government statement.

“India is an attractive place to invest due to its strong economic growth and expanding middle class, and the Indian government has made it easier for institutions to deploy capital successfully,” AustralianSuper Chief Investment Officer Shaun Manuell said in today’s statement.

The manager currently has about AUD 2.8bn invested in India across infrastructure, equities and private markets.

The second edition of NIIF’s infrastructure fund will continue to focus on businesses across transportation, energy, digital infrastructure, urban infrastructure, and e-mobility, similar to the Master Fund I. NIIF announced the final close for the first vehicle at USD 2.34bn in December 2020.

Fund II has additional co-investments and most existing investors are expected to renew their commitments, NIIF said in last week’s statement.

The NIIF deploys capital across four strategies – infrastructure, private markets, growth equity, and climate & investments in the India-Japan business corridor – which together have deployed capital across 25 entities spanning multiple sectors including core infra, renewable energy, healthcare, electric mobility, manufacturing, technology and affordable housing.

NIIF and AustralianSuper did not respond to requests for comment.