IRB Infra Special Purpose Vehicle achieves financial closure for Rs 2,088 cr road proj

IRB Infrastructure Developers said its SPV Udaipur Tollways has achieved financial closure for Rs 2,088 crore highway project on Rajasthan- Gujarat border. Udaipur Tollway Pvt Ltd, a special purpose vehicle (SPV), has successfully achieved financial closure for its Udaipur- Gujarat border six-laning BOT (build, operate, transfer) project, IRB Infrastructure said in a BSE filing.

"The SPV, in terms of the concession agreement, executed with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has tied up with the consortium of lenders for project finance to the tune of Rs 1,461 crore," the company said. The project involves six-laning of 113.8 km length of NH-8 stretch between Udaipur to Gujarat border and the concession period is for 21 years including 910 days of construction period.

Chairman and Managing Director of the company, Virendra D Mhaiskar, said, "Now having achieved financial closure on one out of the three NHAI projects awarded last fiscal, the company can bid competitively for upcoming NHAI projects." The company said its equity contribution to the Rs 2,088 crore project will be Rs 627 crore while the rest of the amount will be funded by project finance of Rs 1,461 crore.

Project is financed by a consortium of lenders led by Canara Bank. The others include Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Indian Overseas Bank, Andhra Bank and Aditya Birla Finance Ltd. IRB Infra bagged the project last year by offering a premium of Rs 163.80 crore to NHAI.

The company said the SPV will start construction soon.