The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is contemplating on borrowing money from international banks, including the World Bank and Japanese Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC), to complete the next seven metro lines in Mumbai.
World Bank India head Roberto Zagha will be given a formal presentation about the loan during his visit to the city on Tuesday, confirmed metropolitan commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad.
“We are looking at international institutions to finance our metro projects. Officials from the World Bank as well as JBIC have shown keen interest in participating in these projects. We had discussions with JBIC officials who visited Mumbai recently. We are optimistic about getting soft loan from both the agencies which can be repaid over a period of 30 years,” said Gaikwad.
The authority is looking at an amount of $10bn (about Rs20,000 crore) from each of these banks. “We have already submitted our proposal to the Centre for the financial equation for the third metro line between Colaba and Bandra, which is partially underground up to Mahalaxmi,” Gaikwad said. “Though the viability gap for the line could go up to 70%, the Centre has in principle agreed to give a viability gap funding up to 40% of the total project cost.”
He also said that the detailed project report (DPR) for all the lines should be ready by next month end.
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