Self-financing PPP model to implement projects

Bengaluru and Mumbai will get high-speed suburban rail networks, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced in his Union Budget FY19.

“A suburban network of approximately 160 kilometres at an estimated cost of Rs 17,000 crore is being planned to cater to the growth of the Bengaluru metropolis,” said Jaitley, also announcing a similar transport system for Mumbai, costing Rs.40,000 crore.

Both the projects will be undertaken through Public-Private-Partnership (PPP), making it a self-financing models.

Funds will also be raised by monetising Indian Railways’ land, advertisements on bill-boards and other sources.

The 160-km lines will be along the existing railway routes in and around Bengaluru, some parts of which will be elevated, and designed to run high-speed rails at 90-125-km/hour.

Over a dozen railway stations in the city will be modernized, reported Deccan Herald, citing a senior Railways official.

Karnataka government and Ministry of Railways will form partnership through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), a project implementation format being adopted for PPP-based developmentsd across India. fii-news.com