Maharashtra accounts for about 15 per cent of India’s gross domestic product, around 40 per cent of which is generated from the Mumbai metropolitan region.

MUMBAI: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Friday inked a pact with the government of India to provide a loan of Rs 6,500 crore (around $926 million) to help finance Mumbai’s ambitious underground metro network.

This is the single largest infrastructure project loan in ADB’s history, which the bank said would help ease the distress of millions of commuters every day and help provide a cleaner, less congested city.

The infrastructure project loan approved by the ADB board on February 26 will help fund lines 2A (Dahisar to D.N. Nagar), 2B (D.N. Nagar to Bandra to Mandale), and 7 (Dahisar east to Andheri east), totaling about 58 kilometres. The project will fund 63 six-car trains, signalling and safety systems, and will help establish a new dedicated metro operations’ organisation to manage the entire metro network in Mumbai. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will implement the project.

“ADB financing will ease travel for millions of commuters across Mumbai, help decongest heavily crowded suburban rail systems, and contribute to providing a modern, clean, and livable urban environment to its citizens,” said Kenichi Yoko-yama, country director of ADB’s India Resident Mission, who signed the loan agreement for ADB.

Once operational by the end of 2022, an estimated 2 million passengers a day will use the two new lines, travelling in improved safety and comfort. It will also reduce emissions from vehicles, with carbon dioxide emissions expected to fall by about 166,000 tonnes a year, the bank said in a statement.

Maharashtra accounts for about 15 per cent of India’s gross domestic product, around 40 per cent of which is generated from the Mumbai metropolitan region.