Prabhu reviews Dedicated Freight Corridor project

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu today reviewed the progress of the Dedicated Freight Corridor project and asked for the commissioning of the completed section in piecemeal without waiting for the completion of entire project.Appreciating the efforts put in by the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation (DFCC) in expediting procurement and pushing the work progress at sites, Prabhu said "We should not wait for the entire completion of the DFC corridor and sections should be commissioned in piecemeal as the work progresses."DFCC has awarded seven major civil, electrical and signal and telecom contracts worth Rs 17,500 crores in 2015. Contracts worth about Rs 10,000 crores are expected to be awarded by March 2016, according to a release.DFCC, a special purpose vehicle is engaged in planning, construction, operation and maintance of the Dedicated Freight Corridors.In the first phase, two corridors, namely Eastern Corridor from Ludhiana to Dankuni (1840 km) and Western Corridor from Dadri to Jawahar Lal Nehru Port (JNPT) (1502 km) are being constructed. The Western Corridor is being funded by Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA), while the Eastern Corridor from Mughalsairai to Ludhiana is being funded by the World Bank.