Kerala's SHSR project of ₹64,000-cr gets debt funding approval

The revised debt-fund plan for ₹64,000-crore semi-high speed rail project in Kerala has been approved by the Union Finance Ministry. JICA- a Japanese development agency had committed to fund ₹33,700 crore which was also approved by the Finance Ministry last year but later, the Japanese agency curtailed its exposure, following which the Finance Ministry asked the state government to submit a revised debt raising plan. The FM asked Kerala Rail Development Corporation (K-Rail) to expedite the project's land acquisition process after obtaining necessary clearances. The Central government has also directed K-Rail to re-engage with JICA to finalize the funding for semi high-speed rail Silver Line', connecting Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod and covering the distance of 529.45 km in four hours as against over 12 hours. The line will cover the stretch of Thiruvananthapuram-Ernakulam/Kochi in flat 90 minutes, as against over four hours.

Earlier, Kerala has nearly halved the JICA loan from USD 4.6 billion to USD 2.5 billion under the revised debt funding plan submitted and approved by the central government. K-Rail MD, V Ajith Kumar, informed that K-Rail is also seeking USD1 billion from the Asian Development Bank, USD460 million from the German development agency KfW, and USD500 million from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.