KRCL signs facility agreement with SBI consortium for doubling and electrification works of Roha-Veer rail section

Konkan Railway Company Limited (KRCL) signed a facility agreement with a consortium of lenders including the State Bank of India (SBI) and EXIM Bank to provide a rupee term loan of Rs 12 billion for the Roha-Veer section of the Roha-Thokur Railway Line Doubling-cum-Electrification Project, on April 9, 2017. As per the agreement, the MoR has already sanctioned funds of Rs 3.1 billion in Budget 2017-18 for the project, while the balance Rs 12 billion was arranged through a rupee term loan facility from the SBI consortium. The infrastructure project is funded on a 20-year structured loan pattern with SBI Capital Markets Limited being the adviser for the loan arrangement. The fund facility is being availed of from April 2017 onwards with the signing of the loan agreement. With this, KRCL has now commenced the execution of the section which is now expected to cost Rs 15.1 billion including financing charges. The project involves the doubling and electrification of an existing 760 km long rail line between Roha and Mangaluru in the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka, respectively, at an investment of Rs 105 billion. The project is expected to increase the passenger and cargo handling capacity, and profitability for Konkan Railway, besides helping serve passengers better. One of IR’s most challenging projects, the rail line will run across over 2,000 bridges and 91 tunnels built on mountainous terrain and across many rivers.