As per the previous discussion for constitution of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for completion of the Khordha-Balangir railway line project, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the State Government and the Ministry of Railway on Monday in New Delhi.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, Odisha Minister for Commerce and Transport Ramesh Majhi and Speaker of State Assembly Niranjan Pujari along with some Odisha MPs and senior officials from both sides at the Rail Bhawan.
Out of the 289-km Khordha-Balangir railway project sanctioned by the Centre in 1994, official sources said, the remaining 177-km Daspalla-Balangir rail route would be completed within six years though the SPV.
According to the understanding, the State and the Centre would bear the construction cost of Rs 2,000 crore equally. Besides the `1,000 crore, the State would bear an additional cost of `355 crore towards compensation for acquisition of private land for the project.
Notably, out of the total 289-km project, work between Khordha and Begunia (32 km) has been completed and construction of an 80-km track between Begunia and Daspalla is on.