Japan is unlikely to continue its financial support to the Delhi
Metro Rail Corporation beyond the third phase of the project that will
be completed by 2016. Instead, it expects Delhi Metro to explore other
options such as raising equity or debt from the market at commercial
rates.
“Unlike most infrastructure projects in India that face delays, DMRC is an exceptional case and completes projects in time... DMRC has established its status in the market so it may be easy for them to borrow from the private sector,” said Shinya Ejima, Chief Representative, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), India Office.
JICA, which is an arm of the Japanese government for providing technical and financial aid to developing countries to implement projects, has been the one of the top financiers of the DMRC, providing as much as 60 per cent funding for Phase I. In total, it has provided soft loans of 5,02,644 million Japanese Yen for the three phases of the project till date.
Loans from JICA, which fall under the category of development assistance, have been given to DMRC at interest rates varying between 2.4 per cent to 1.2 per cent and have repayment periods of 30 years.
“DMRC has a plan to further extend the network. While we are very proud of financing DMRC, we can not continue it for the next 20 years,” said Ejima, adding that JICA would continue to support Phase-III of the Delhi Metro and is also likely to additional loans next year depending on requirements.
Delhi Metro’s Phase III is expected to connect another 140 km of the capital with the metro rail system by 2016.
The Japanese agency is providing financial assistance to metro rail projects in other cities, including those being set up in Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata. Kochi Metro Rail had also recently indicated that it would approach JICA for funding.
“Unlike most infrastructure projects in India that face delays, DMRC is an exceptional case and completes projects in time... DMRC has established its status in the market so it may be easy for them to borrow from the private sector,” said Shinya Ejima, Chief Representative, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), India Office.
JICA, which is an arm of the Japanese government for providing technical and financial aid to developing countries to implement projects, has been the one of the top financiers of the DMRC, providing as much as 60 per cent funding for Phase I. In total, it has provided soft loans of 5,02,644 million Japanese Yen for the three phases of the project till date.
Loans from JICA, which fall under the category of development assistance, have been given to DMRC at interest rates varying between 2.4 per cent to 1.2 per cent and have repayment periods of 30 years.
“DMRC has a plan to further extend the network. While we are very proud of financing DMRC, we can not continue it for the next 20 years,” said Ejima, adding that JICA would continue to support Phase-III of the Delhi Metro and is also likely to additional loans next year depending on requirements.
Delhi Metro’s Phase III is expected to connect another 140 km of the capital with the metro rail system by 2016.
The Japanese agency is providing financial assistance to metro rail projects in other cities, including those being set up in Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata. Kochi Metro Rail had also recently indicated that it would approach JICA for funding.
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