Loan has tenor of 25 years with 8-yr grace period
Amid the continuing standoff at the Line of Actual of Actual Control (LAC), the Government on Thursday signed a loan agreement worth $500 million with the Shanghai-based New Development Bank (NDB) to fund part of the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) Project to boost connectivity between Delhi and Meerut in Uttar Pradesh.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affair, Ministry of Finance (MoF), National Capital Region Transport Corporation Limited, and Chief Operations Officer Xian Zhu from NDB side, signed the loan agreement.
The loan has a tenor of 25 years with an eight-year grace period. Approval from the NDB — a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS countries — for the loan came after a board meeting on September 29.
Earlier in September, the Centre had taken another loan of $500 million to fund the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS corridor. The Government also plans to borrow from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Both NDB and AIIB are headquartered in China.
The funds will be used to finance rolling stock, signalling system, operational structures, residences for operational staff, train control and telecommunication system, among other works. Executed by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation, the 82 km-long corridor is estimated to cost $3.7 billion. The total project cost is estimated at $3,749 million, which will be financed by the NDB ($500 million), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank ($500 million), Asian Development Bank ($1,049 million), Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction ($3 million), and Government and Other sources ($1,707 mn).
The RRTS project stretches over a distance of 82km between Delhi and Meerut and once ready, high-speed trains will run between the corridor reducing the travel time. The elevated corridor will have 24 stations, and of the 82 km distance, 11.5 km will be underground.
Civil construction work on the project is in full swing over a 50km stretch between Sahibabad in Ghaziabad and Shatabdipuram in Meerut. The 17-km long priority section between Sahibabad and Duhai is scheduled to commence operations in 2023 and the entire corridor will be operational in 2025. Three corridors are enlisted in the first phase - Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut, Delhi-Gurugram-Alwar and Delhi-Panipat. They will converge at Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi and will be interoperable.
The RRTS stations will be seamlessly integrated with nearby transport modes such as Metro Stations, ISBTs, railway stations, and airports. This clean and green rail-based system will set a benchmark for similar future projects. Lack of efficient options for public transport and rapid growth in vehicle traffic have made the National Capital Region one of the most polluted regions in the world. By 2030, NCR is projected to be the most populous urban areas in the world, which will increase pressure on housing, water supply, electricity and transport facilities.
Notably, Indian consumers have mostly stayed away from purchasing China-made products this festive season. According to a LocalCircles survey, 71 per cent of local consumers did not purchase goods that carried a ‘Made in China’ tag.