Sabarmati Riverfront gets Rs350-cr boost

Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Limited (SRFDCL) has taken Rs350 crore loan from Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited (Hudco). This time, the company has taken the loan at an interest rate of 9.75%. The last time the SRFDCL had taken Rs500 crore loan from Hudco, the interest rate was 13%.

Municipal commissioner and chairman of SRFDCL IP Gautam said the move would save the company an amount of around Rs12 crore.

"Of the Rs500 crore loan taken earlier, the SRFDCL had not availed Rs300 crore. So, we returned the amount and took a fresh loan of Rs350 crore from the same organisation, Hudco. While earlier the interest rate was fixed at 13%, this time we negotiated afresh and secured the loan at 9.75% interest rate, implemented from April, 2009. The move to seek a fresh loan of Rs350 crore was aimed at taking advantage of lower interest rate," said Gautam. 

As the SRFDCL was negotiating a fresh loan deal, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) had given the company a Rs180 crore loan to continue the work.
"After getting the fresh loan, the SRFDCL would be able to pay back the loan to AMC partially. Auctioning the reclaimed land would also help the SRFDCL to pay back the entire amount it borrowed from the AMC," added Gautam.

Gautam said the work to finalise details of plots was going on. "AMC, AUDA and the state government would finalise the details of regulations. We will complete the work of retaining wall and earth filing by December 2010," he said, adding that the AMC's executive wing budget will be presented before December 10.