| The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today approved the Eastern and Western Freight Corridor proposals of the railway ministry. Both corridors had been earmarked in the previous Railway Budget as those on which work would start first.
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| The Eastern Freight Corridor, which will run between Ludhiana and Kolkata, will be completed in five years at an investment of Rs 11,589 crore. It will be a completely electrified route and will also have a link line between Dadri and Karcha.
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| The Western Freight Corridor, running between Delhi and Mumbai, will be completed in five years at an estimated cost of Rs 16,592 crore. Both the corridors will be funded through internal resources and market support.
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| Briefing mediapersons, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said, “Initially, Indian Railways will have 100 per cent ownership in both the corridors but later, the ownership could be given to public sector companies.”
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| The clearance of both the corridors will facilitate the beginning of laying the lines. Railway ministry officials have been pushing for April 1, 2007 as the day for starting work on the project and this could now become a reality. Both projects had been formally inaugurated by the prime minister last year but the actual work will begin only now.
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| In addition to this, the CCEA today also cleared the proposal to set up a greenfield locomotive factory in Railway Minister Lalu Prasad’s constituency, Madhepura, in Bihar. The project, worth Rs 1,294 crore, will be completed in three years. The ministry is already setting up two similar units in Rae Bareilly and Chhapra.
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| The CCEA also gave its approval for Greater Mumbai-IV-Middle Vaitarna Water Supply Project at a cost of Rs 1329.50 crore. The Centre will fund 35 per cent of the project amounting Rs 465.33 crore. |
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