Jul.16--THE International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, a unit of the World Bank, has made a third loan to the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) to build the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC), a rail freight project.
The third US$650 million loan was approved in June and will go towards the building of the 401-kilometre stretch between Ludhiana, Punjab and Khurja and Uttar Pradesh, the World Bank said.
The first loan was approved in May 2011 for $975 million for the 343-kilometre section in Uttar Pradesh between Khurja and Kanpur, American Shipper reports.
The second $1.1 billion loan was approved in April 2014 for 402 kilometres between Kanpur and Mughal Sarai, also in the Uttar Pradesh region.
For the remainder of the EDFC, the Ministry of Railways will fund the section from Mughal Sarai, Uttar Pradesh to Son Nagar, Bihar.
The 5.34-kilometre section from Son Nagar, Bihar to Dankuni, West Bengal will be financed through public-private partnership, DFCCIL said.
Once completed, the EDFC will be 1,840 kilometres long and extend from Ludhiana, Punjab to Kolkata, West Bengal, incorporating the six states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
(Source:shippingazette)