ADB to provide Rs 1,527-crore aid for Nagpur Metro Phase-II

Nagpur, Dec 17 (IANS) The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will extend financial assistance of Rs 1,527 crore (USD 200 million) to speed up Phase II of the ongoing Nagpur Metro Rail Project, officials said on Tuesday.

A MoU to the effect was signed between MahaMetro and ADB in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other high-ranking officials from both sides.

Fadnavis said that Phase II of Nagpur Metro would further accelerate the development of Nagpur City and its surroundings.

MahaMetro Managing Director Shravan Hardikar and ADB Director Mio Oka inked the MoU today.

Phase II of Nagpur Metro will get a total funding of Rs 3,586 crore from the ADB and the European Investment Bank (EIB). Of this, the ADB will provide Rs 1,527 crore in Japanese Yen at a comparatively lower rate of interest on the loan, and the remaining Rs 2,059 crore shall be given by EIB, said the officials.

Costing around Rs 6,600 crore, the NMRP Phase-II will cover a distance of Rs 43.8 km comprising four different routes, the officials added.

They are: Khapri-MIDC ESR (18.5 kms), Automotive Square-Kanhan River (13 kms), Prajapati Nagar-Transport Nagar (5.6 kms) and Lokmanya Nagar-Hingna (6.7 kms).

The MoU ceremony was attended by Chief Secretary Sujata Saunik, MITRA CEO Pravin Pardeshi, MahaMetro Director Anilkumar Kokate, various departmental officials and those connected to the CMO.

Inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March 2019, presently, the NMRP Phase-I, mostly elevated, is operational over 38.22 km with 38 stations, running 18.55 km (East-West Corridor, 20 stations) and 19.65 km (North-South Corridor with 18 stations) and two depots.

Phase II will connect the satellite cities of Nagpur and prove a boon to over 10 lakh people residing in the region, including Kamptee, Butibori, Hingna and Kapsi, among others.

The Kanhan route passes through Kamptee from where thousands commute to Nagpur daily for work and education, besides the presence of several big and small coal mines of Western Coalfields Ltd, some of the biggest industrial zones like Butibori, and around 750 other industries employing more than 50,000 people.

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