| Project Detail |
the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a member of the World Bank Group, issued guarantee totaling US$ 132 million to cover for the non-shareholder’s loan of MUFB Bank (Japan) to the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL), an Indian state-owned enterprise, to complete the financing, design and construction of the Ludhiana-Khurja and Kanpur-Mughalsarai sections of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC), and the last mile connectivity between the freight corridor and multimodal logistics terminals (“the Project”). The MIGA-guarantee will be extended up to 8 years against the risk of Non-Honoring of Financial Obligations by a State-Owned Enterprise and the MIGA-covered loan will be concomitant with US$245 million of World Bank financing to the Project under the Rail Logistics Project (P177856) currently under implementation. Overloading of the Indian Railways (IR) system has been an imminent issue. As freight trains are being imposed into an already busy track schedule that is prioritized for passenger trains, freight service quality has been compromised as a result. The EDFC will operate in parallel to the existing IR system in eastern India and will be dedicated solely for the carriage of freight. The operation of the EDFC is expected to relieve the IR system of its overloading, as a major portion of the rail-freight transport in eastern India is expected to be transferred to the EDFC. The EDFC is also expected to catalyze a modal shift of freight transport from road to rail in eastern India. |
