World Bank to give 48 per cent loan for Metro-4

The World Bank has shown keen interest in giving 48 per cent as soft loan for the construction of the Metro corridor that connects Mumbai with Thane, which is the Metro-4 corridor between Wadala-Thane-Kasarvadavali being implemented by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

“Going by the talks between the officials of MMRDA and the World Bank, it seems that the latter is quite positive about funding the Metro-4 corridor, for which the cost is around Rs 14,549 crore. The funding for the civil works will be done by the state government itself and the rest could be funded by the World Bank,” said U.P.S. Madan, metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA.

The terms and conditions for obtaining the loan have not been decided yet as the same would be fixed on the signing of a loan agreement between MMRDA and the World Bank. In the case of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) extending 50-per cent loan amounts for both the Dahisar-DN Nagar Metro-2A corridor and the Dahisar (east)- Andheri (east) Metro-7 corridor, the rate of interest would be about 1.5 per cent and the repayment period would be around 35 years with a 10-year moratorium.

Interestingly, the state government has refused to act as a guarantor for all the proposed Metro corridors in the city and the 22-km-long Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) connecting Sewri with Nhava Sheva, for which the MMRDA is obtaining loans from international financial institutions.

The project-affected people (PAP) would be shifted to buildings constructed by the MMRDA and would be rehabilitated under the World Bank’s Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP).

MMRDA authorities approved the detailed project report of the Metro-4 corridor in June 2016 with a deadline of 2021. This project will help connect the Thane area and the city of Mumbai with a modern public transport system, and will have a huge impact on the development of the areas around the corridor.

There are around 32 stations planned on the Metro-4 corridor. In addition, a 30-hectare car depot is also planned at Owale in Thane.

Soft loan facts A soft loan, generally given to developing countries by international financial institutions, involves interest rates much below the market rate. It also involves long repayment periods given for major infrastructure projects.