Out of the 13 proposed projects in the Railway Budget 2016-17 which would be developed through Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) or Joint Venture (JV) mode, two projects would be in Odisha.
Minister of State for Railways Monoj Sinha informed in the Rajya Sabha on Friday that the Ministry has included 13 projects in the Railway Budget subject to requisite approvals which are proposed to be taken up on Joint Venture model. “Two projects in Odisha, 130-km Jeypore-Malkangiri railway line and 38-km Jeypore-Nabarangpur railway line, are among the 13 projects listed for the this financial year,” said the Minister.
He said that while Rs1,277 crore would be spent for construction of the rail track between Jeypore and Malkangiri, Rs485 crore would be earmarked for the Jeypore and Nabarangpur route.
The Minister further informed that four projects for Odisha have also been included in the Pink Book.
The projects are Rs5,000-crore Brahmapur-Sambalpur (270 km) railway track construction, Rs2,900-crore Junagada-Nabarangpur-Ambaguda (145 km), Rs350-crore Bansapani-Badbil (17.5 km) and Rs1,400-crore Barasuan-Bansapani-Narayangada line.
“The four projects in Odisha among 30 in the country have been included in the Capital Investment Programme of 2016-17 (incorporated as annexure to the Pink Book of sanctioned works) at an anticipated cost of Rs58,274 crore,” the Minister informed.
The Ministry can have an equity participation up to 50 per cent in the JV and State Government to have the balance equity sharing.
Formation of JV Companies would help in mobilisation of additional resources for execution of railway projects resulting in expansion of railway network in the country.