A common loan agreement was signed between the Chhattisgarh East West Rail Ltd (CEWRL), a Rail joint venture company of South Eastern Coalfields Ltd. (SECL), and a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India for a loan of ₹ 3,976 crores to develop a 135 KM double rail line to move coal from SECL mines.
The loan will be utilized by CEWRL for the rail connectivity from Gevra Road to Pendra Road (both existing stations) to transfer coal from Gevra, Dipka and Kusmunda, the mega mines of South Eastern Coalfields Ltd.
The project has been designed with a Debt to Equity ratio of 80:20 wherein the promoters are required to contribute about ₹ 994 crores and the balance amount of ₹ 3,976 crores is arranged from banks as rupee term loan.
With the promoters investing more than ₹ 650 Crore in the project and land acquisition and forest clearance already obtained for the main line, the project is now expected to be completed by March 2023.
When completed, it will help SECL move about 65 MT of coal every year from its mines.
The East West Rail Corridor Project linking Gevra Road and Pendra Road is a shorter and alternate route to the existing highly congested one to move coal traffic towards the northern and western parts of the country.
The project includes connectivity to the Gevra, Kusmunda and Dipika Mines of SECL.
South Eastern Coalfields Ltd. (SECL) has a 64% holding in CEWRL while IRCON (a Ministry of Rail PSU) holds 26% stake. The rest 10% is held by the State Industrial Development Corporation of the Chhattisgarh government.
The State Bank of India is the lead bank in loan exposure. The other banks involved in the project are Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India, Canara Bank, Indian Bank and Bank of Baroda.