It is thought the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) ‘will soon accept the request’ to fund the $2.26 billion Line 3 of the Mumbai Metro rail network.
JICA is currently working on finalising concessional financing for the third line. Recently, the agency gave the go ahead for funding the third phase of the Delhi Metro project.
The loan will come with an annual interest of 1.4% with a repayment period of 30 years and a grace of 10 years.
The move comes after the central government refused to fund the viability gap which is over 50%.
A representative of JICA said:
“We have received the Indian government’s request to provide funding for Mumbai Metro’s Line 3 and it has been looked at positively.”
The loan money will be spent on developing a 25-30 km underground link from South Mumbai’s Colaba to Western Suburb Bandra and will connect to Mumbai Airport.
The estimated cost of the project is thought to be more than Rs 21,000 crore.
Mumbai Metro Line 1 and Line 2 are being developed by a consortium headed by Reliance Infrastructure with a 69% stake, MMRDA with 26% stake and the rest owned by French firm, Veolia Transport.
The first line of 11 km runs through the suburbs of Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar and the second line of 32 km connects Charkop and Bandra with Mankhurd.
Both the lines are elevated and being developed under the Public Private Partnership modal (PPP), the third line is mostly underground will requires a huge investment.
A JICA representative said as the project involves huge funding, it is not seen as a viable public-private partnership project.
