The Railway Ministry and NITI Aayog have approved the ₹63,941 crore silver line Semi high-speed rail (SHSR) project in Kerala. It has been lauded as the game-changer in Kerala's infrastructure development. The project has obtained recommendations from the Department of Expenditure under the Ministry of Finance and is currently being considered by the Union Finance Ministry's Department of Economic Affairs. This will pave the way for financing from international institutions such as Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Asian Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and German Development Bank (KfW). Foreign banks would need the consent of the Department of Economic Affairs to fund the project. V Ajith Kumar, MD of Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (K-Rail), informed that this is a joint venture of the Indian Railways and the state government. To obtain foreign financing, around 70- 80 per cent of the land designated for the project must be acquired. A total of 1,383 hectares of land must be purchased for the project, which would cost around ₹13,000 crore. Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) and Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd (Hudco) have made bids for the project of ₹3,000 crore and ₹2,100 crore, respectively. As a result, K-Rail is hopeful of obtaining the land using the money in addition to international bank loans. The state administration expects to raise around ₹33,000 crore from overseas banks.
