Tuesday, July 16, 2019

New Palwal to Sonipat rail project approved

CHANDIGARH, JULY 16 
Haryana Cabinet which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister, Mr Manohar Lal here today approved the proposal for the implementation of a new rail project to connect Palwal to Sonipat at a cost of Rs 5,566 crore under the Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor Project.
          The Cabinet also approved debt share of Rs 3,340 crore including Rs 2,800 crore as EAP loan from Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). It also authorised Chief Minister to approve any changes or modifications, which arise during consultation with Haryana Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (HRIDC)/Government of India or for removing difficulties and bottlenecks in the implementation of Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor Project.
          Considering the upfront revenue of Rs 795 crore from Transit Oriented Development (TOD) during construction, the net cost is estimated at Rs 4,771 crore. Out of this, 70 per cent is debt that is Rs 3,340 crore and 30 per cent is equity that is Rs 1,431 crore. Out of this total equity, the equity share of HRIDC will be Rs 644 crore, Rs 215 crore of HSIIDC, Rs 71.5 crore of GMDA and Rs 500.5 crore of private sectors including Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., All Cargo and JM Baxi Group.
          Out of the equity of HRIDC, Rs 315.56 crore of the equity will be provided by Indian Railways and Rs 328.44 crore of the equity by the state government.
          The Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor Project from Palwal to Sonipat is being implemented by HRIDC, a joint venture of Ministry of Railways and the state government. The total route length of the project is 121.742 kms and total project cost including land acquisition and interest during construction is Rs 5,566 crore. It will have 17 stations including 14 new stations and three existing stations, 23 major waterway bridges, 195 minor waterway bridges and three rail flyovers. Apart from this, it will have  two road over bridge and 153 road under bridge.
          The rail corridor will enable running of passenger trains on this route, which will directly connect region of Gurugram with capital of State that is Chandigarh, bypassing Delhi, leading to reduced travel time. Also, it will enable running trains like Shatabdi Superfast Express on this route bypassing Delhi so as to provide fast, reliable, safe and comfortable journey to the people of the State. Besides, the project will facilitate running of trains from Gurugram or Faridabad to various parts of the State.
          The project will also facilitate the diversion of goods traffic not meant for Delhi and will help in developing multimodal hubs in NCR region of Haryana. It will open up unserved areas of the State, thereby enhancing economic and social activity of the State.
          The project has buoyant traffic, revenues and high operating margin and it is ideally suited for commercial financing models. The project has witnessed solid interest amongst key government stakeholders and major industries in the project influence zone. HSIIDC, the Industrial Development Corporation and Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), the local administrative body of Gurugram, have confirmed their interest to participate in the Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor Project as equity shareholders. Private parties like Maruti Suzuki, All Cargo Logistics and JM Baxi Group have expressed their interest in the project with equity contribution.
===balbirsingh227@gmail.com

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