Union finance ministry asks Kerala to begin land acquisition for Rs 64,000-cr speed rail project

(Image: Reuters)

The Union finance ministry has finally approved the revised debt-fund raising plan for the Rs 64,000-crore semi-high speed rail project connecting Kerala capital Thiruvananthapuram with its northern tip Kasaragod, a top state government official has said.

The Japanese development agency JICA had earlier committed to fund Rs 33,700 crore which was approved by the Union finance ministry as well in 2019 but later JICA massively curtailed its exposure, following which the Union finance ministry asked us to submit a revised debt raising plan which was sent shortly.

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In a letter to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, dated January 5, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman asked Kerala Rail Development Corporation (K-Rail), the nodal implementation agency, to expedite land acquisition for the most ambitious project of the state till date after obtaining necessary clearances, according to the official.

The Centre has also directed K-Rail to re-engage with Japan International Cooperative Agency (JICA) to finalise the funding for the Rs 63,941 crore semi high-speed rail Silver Line as it is named, connecting Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod and covering the 529.45-km ride in 4 hrs as against over 12 hrs now. The line will cover Thiruvananthapuram-Ernakulam/Kochi stretch in flat 90 minutes, as against over 4 hours now.

Under the revised debt funding plan submitted and approved by the Centre, Kerala has nearly halved the JICA loan to $2.5 billion from $4.6 billion earlier. K-Rail is also seeking USD1 billion from the Asian Development Bank, $500 million from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and $460 million from the German development agency KfW, K-Rail managing director V Ajith Kumar told.