The World Bank has agreed to provide $1.1bn loan to the Indian government for developing the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) which will facilitate faster transportation of raw materials and finished goods between the northern and eastern parts of the country.
The loan is a second tranche of loan from World Bank for the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation (DFCCIL) project involving construction of the freight-only rail line.
The World Bank had approved the project on 22 April, 2014 and will be supporting EDFC, which will implemented in three phases, having a total route length of 1,133km but with construction overlaps.
While EDFC extends over a length of 1,839 km from Ludhiana to Kolkata, the EDFC 2 will be 393 km long from Kanpur-Mughal Sarai section in Uttar Pradesh state.
DFCCIL managing director Adesh Sharma said: "We are determined to adhere to the scheduled completion target of Eastern Corridor by December 2019.
"Ninety per cent of land acquisition for Kanpur-Mughal Sarai section, for which the loan agreement is being signed today, has been completed, and the contract for the civil works will also be finalized by January 2015. With the finalization of these contracts, the work will be progressing in two-thirds of the total length of Eastern Corridor."
Besides raising the capacity of the freight lines with increased axle-load limits and speed, the project is also aimed at boosting transportation capacity of Indian Railways.
The World Bank had approved the first loan of $975m in May 2011 to fund the 343km Khurja-Kanpur section under the EDFC program.
World Bank country director in India Onno Ruhl said: "Implementing the Dedicated Freight Corridor program will provide India the opportunity to create one of the world's largest freight operations, adopting proven international technologies and approaches which can progressively be extended to other important freight routes throughout the network.
"The project will play a transformational role by reducing greenhouse gas emissions as a result of promoting transfer of freight from road to rail.
"It will also serve as a catalyst for accelerating economic development in the relatively poor state of Uttar Pradesh through which the line passes. We hope this will lead to communities along the corridor having better access to employment opportunities, health, education and other social services."
Indian Ministry of Finance Department of Economic Affairs joint secretary Tarun Bajaj said: "The EDFC will ease congestions choking the railway system and reduce travel-time for passenger trains plying on this arterial Ludhiana-Delhi-Mughal Sarai railway route.
"The corridor will add additional rail transport capacity, improve service quality and create higher freight capacity."
The loan is a second tranche of loan from World Bank for the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation (DFCCIL) project involving construction of the freight-only rail line.
The World Bank had approved the project on 22 April, 2014 and will be supporting EDFC, which will implemented in three phases, having a total route length of 1,133km but with construction overlaps.
While EDFC extends over a length of 1,839 km from Ludhiana to Kolkata, the EDFC 2 will be 393 km long from Kanpur-Mughal Sarai section in Uttar Pradesh state.
DFCCIL managing director Adesh Sharma said: "We are determined to adhere to the scheduled completion target of Eastern Corridor by December 2019.
"Ninety per cent of land acquisition for Kanpur-Mughal Sarai section, for which the loan agreement is being signed today, has been completed, and the contract for the civil works will also be finalized by January 2015. With the finalization of these contracts, the work will be progressing in two-thirds of the total length of Eastern Corridor."
Besides raising the capacity of the freight lines with increased axle-load limits and speed, the project is also aimed at boosting transportation capacity of Indian Railways.
The World Bank had approved the first loan of $975m in May 2011 to fund the 343km Khurja-Kanpur section under the EDFC program.
World Bank country director in India Onno Ruhl said: "Implementing the Dedicated Freight Corridor program will provide India the opportunity to create one of the world's largest freight operations, adopting proven international technologies and approaches which can progressively be extended to other important freight routes throughout the network.
"The project will play a transformational role by reducing greenhouse gas emissions as a result of promoting transfer of freight from road to rail.
"It will also serve as a catalyst for accelerating economic development in the relatively poor state of Uttar Pradesh through which the line passes. We hope this will lead to communities along the corridor having better access to employment opportunities, health, education and other social services."
Indian Ministry of Finance Department of Economic Affairs joint secretary Tarun Bajaj said: "The EDFC will ease congestions choking the railway system and reduce travel-time for passenger trains plying on this arterial Ludhiana-Delhi-Mughal Sarai railway route.
"The corridor will add additional rail transport capacity, improve service quality and create higher freight capacity."
