Japan to lend Rs 5,479 crore for Chennai, Ahmedabad metro projects

Japan will give development assistance loan worth Rs 5,479 crore to India for Chennai and Ahmedabad metro projects, the finance ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

The agreements were signed by S Selvakumar, joint secretary, department of economic affairs, and Yutaka Kikuta, deputy chief of mission of Japan to India, last Friday.

While Rs 4,410 crore will be provided for the Ahmedabad metro project, Rs 1,069 will be given for the fourth phase of the Chennai project.

The first phase (29.621 km) of the Ahmedabad metro project is expected to cost Rs 9,327 crore in March 2014 prices. The Metro-Link Express for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad (MEGA), a special-purpose-vehicle (SPV) and a 50:50 venture of the central and state government, is in charge of the project. It had sought for a Rs 5,900-crore loan from the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA), a Japanese body providing financial assistance for several metro projects in India.

India is continuously making efforts to obtain bilateral and multilateral funding to meet this financial requirement, the finance ministry statement said.