Take loan for MTHL in instalments: MMRDA

Mumbai: After the state government’s refusal to be a loan guarantor for the Rs 17,500 crore, 22-km Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link (MTHL) between Sewri and Nhava Sheva, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has now proposed going for the loan amount in instalments with the amount to be borrowed from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) coming down to Rs 7,500 crore from the total Rs 15,500 crore.

Earlier, after the state government made it clear that it would not act as bank guarantor to avoid additional financial liability, MMRDA was forced to pay 1.2 per cent of the total loan amount of the project i.e. Rs 200 crore, to the Union finance ministry as bank guarantee for MTHL.

A state government official said, “JICA was ready to work with that solution but it was the department of economic affairs that denied going ahead with such a model. Hence, we have proposed taking a loan in two parts. The first part of Rs 7,500 crore will be taken as loan amount from JICA and if the state government acts as guarantor for the same, its books will not be much affected.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to carry out bhoomi pujan of the three-decade-old project on December 24 along with two other metro corridors namely D.N. Nagar Mankhurd Metro-2B and Wadala-Thane Metro-4. Meanwhile, pre-qualification bids for the project were floated in May 2016.