DFCCIL has signed a loan agreement with JICA for its western corridor

Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) has signed a loan agreement with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for its western corridor. The pact was signed for the project appraisal for the two routes comprising Vadodara to Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) and Rewari to Dadri in the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor. The proposed funding is under Special Terms of Economic Participation (STEP) between Japan and India. The value of the proposed loan is JPY 295 billion (approx Rs.20,000 crore), which is a soft loan with the repayment period of 40 years. The Western DFC of 1,499 km will be from JNPT in Mumbai to Tughlakbad and Dadri near Delhi and cater to the container transport requirement between the existing and emerging ports in western India and northern hinterland. As far as land acquisition for the Western DFC is concerned, out of total 3,608 ha required in Phase I, 3,186 ha has been acquired. For the Phase II, out of total 2,252 ha required, 1,041 ha have been acquired. Remaining land is expected to be acquired during the current financial year FY13. The Japan Government will offer loan for the Phase II of Dedicated Freight Corridor and an infrastructure project in South India.

The Indian Railways will now take control of the East-West Metro Corridor project in Kolkata. The Railways will own 74 per cent stake in the project, while the Urban Development Ministry will hold the remaining 26 per cent. With this, the West Bengal Government will exit the project. The proposal of initiating the share transfer from the state government to the Railways has already been approved by the Cabinet. Earlier, the corporation was equally owned by the Urban Development Ministry and state government. The Rs.4,874-crore project is already running one year behind its completion schedule of 2014-15. The metro corridor will connect the IT city Salt Lake with the western fringes. Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC), a JV company formed by the Urban Development Ministry and West Bengal Government, was in charge of executing the project. This apart, Indian Railways is all set to begin work on the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) project connecting Punjab with West Bengal and UP with Maharashtra. The Rs.80,000-crore Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) project will come into two phases. In Phase I, DFCCIL will be constructing two corridors — the Western DFC and Eastern DFC — spanning a total length of about 3,300 km. The Eastern Corridor, starting from Ludhiana in Punjab, will pass through the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and terminate at Dankuni in West Bengal. The Western Corridor will traverse the distance from Dadri to Mumbai, passing through the states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Around 80 per cent of the land required for the project has been acquired. Soon, tenders for laying of the first 1,000 km of tracks (worth around Rs. 10,000 crore) of the 3,300 km project would be awarded in FY13. The deadline for the project is 2016-17.