South East Central Railway (SECR) and Chhattisgarh East West Railway limited (CEWRl) signed Concession Agreement for construction of East-West Railway Corridor, its operations and maintenance in the presence of Chief Minister Raman Singh on Sunday. The agreement is for 30 years period.
The agreement would pave the way for construction and laying of 135.30 kilometres double railway line from Gevra Road to Pendra Road, while the East-West Rail Corridor construction estimated cost is Rs 4970.11 crore with the expected target of project completion is March 2022.
SECR Chief Traffic and Planning Manager G. M Naidu and East-West Railway limited Chief Executive Officer J. N. Jha signed the agreement.
Chief Minister Raman Singh while extending greetings to the officials present said that the project is important for Chhattisgarh, Railway and Coal India. Prime Minister is directly monitoring the progress of the project and he has expressed delight over the progress of the project, further said the Chief Minister.
Forest Minister Mahesh Gagda, Chief Secretary Ajay Singh, Commerce and Industries department secretary Subodh Singh, Finance department secretary Dr Kamalpreet Singh, Chhattisgarh State Industrial Development Corporation Managing Director Sunil Mishra, SECR General Manager Sunil Singh along with Railway and State Government officials were also present.
Chhattisgarh East West Railway limited has been constituted by the Government of Chhattisgarh as Special Purpose Vehicle company having Chhattisgarh State Industrial Development Corporation, South Eastern Coalfields limited (SECl) and IRCON.
The corridor would help to transport the coals produced from the mines of Kusmunda and Gevra of Korba district.
The corridor would also be used for passenger transportation. It is estimated that with railway corridor the production is likely to increase from 100 million tonnes to 160 million tonnes.
The land acquisition for the project has been completed.
A presentation of the construction works being undertaken in the East Railway Corridor was made before the Chief Minister.
The railway line as part of the corridor from Kharsia to Korichapper, 45 kilometres work is expected to be completed by March 2019.