DFCCIL organises stakeholder meet
Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL) organised a Stakeholder Conference on the financing and construction of the proposed East-West Dedicated Freight Corridor (EWDFC) at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The conference brought together developers, investors, financial institutions, and prospective bidders to facilitate stakeholder consultations and discuss the project’s implementation framework and financing opportunities.
The conference was led by Praveen Kumar, Managing Director, DFCCIL; Shyam Sundar Gupta, Principal Executive Director (Infrastructure), Railway Board; B Mugunthan, Director (Finance), DFCCIL; and Rahul Kapoor, Executive Director (Finance/RM & PPP), Railway Board.
Convened by Ajay Kumar, Executive Director (Asset Management) and Sanjeev Gupta, Executive Director (Finance), the conference was attended by Shobhit Bhatnagar, Director (Operations & Business Development); Anurag Sharma, Director (Infrastructure); Pawan K Rai, Director (Project Planning); and senior officers from DFCCIL.
The discussions focused on the financing framework, construction strategy, stakeholder participation, and implementation roadmap for the EWDFC under the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM). The interactive session provided a platform for addressing stakeholder queries, exchanging valuable inputs, and strengthening collaborative efforts for the timely development of India’s next-generation freight corridor.
The conference witnessed enthusiastic participation from a wide cross-section of stakeholders, including leading infrastructure developers, EPC contractors, logistics and port operators, rolling stock and rail technology companies, financial institutions, multilateral agencies, infrastructure investors, rating agencies and consultants.
Prominent organisations represented at the conference included Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Afcons Infrastructure, Tata Projects, IRCON International, Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), RITES Ltd, GR Infraprojects, Ashoka Buildcon, Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL), Hindustan Construction Company (HCC), Kalpataru Projects International, KEC International, GPT Infraprojects, Dineshchandra R Agrawal Infracon Pvt Ltd (DRAIPL), GMR Group and Hindalco Industries.
Representatives from the logistics and freight sector, including Container Corporation of India (CONCOR), Adani Road Transport Ltd and DP World, also participated in the deliberations. The conference was further attended by infrastructure investors and advisory organisations such as National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), CDPQ India, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, EY, PwC, Siemens Financial Services, ICRA, CARE Ratings, CRISIL and India Ratings & Research.
Participation from leading domestic and international financial institutions and development finance organisations, including Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), World Bank, MUFG Bank, State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, IDBI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Union Bank of India, UCO Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Indian Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL), Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC), Power Finance Corporation (PFC), REC Limited, HUDCO, National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID), International Finance Corporation (IFC), New Development Bank (NDB) and YES Bank, reflected strong investor confidence and broad stakeholder interest in the implementation of the East-West Dedicated Freight Corridor.
Speaking on the occasion, Praveen Kumar, reiterated DFCCIL’s commitment to taking forward the EWDFC with full momentum through collaborative engagement, innovative financing, and focused execution. He appreciated the efforts of the finance and project teams in successfully organising the conference and highlighted the importance of continued stakeholder partnership in achieving the project objectives.
The proposed East-West Dedicated Freight Corridor, connecting Surat in Gujarat to Dankuni in West Bengal over approximately 2,316 km, is envisaged as a transformative freight infrastructure project that will enhance connectivity across six States, strengthen multimodal logistics integration, and significantly augment India’s freight transportation capacity.
