Sagarmala invests Rs 1.25 bn in Krishnapatnam rail freight corridor

Krishnapatnam Railway Company Limited (KRCL) has received an investment of Rs 1.25 billion from Sagarmala Development Company Limited for developing a rail corridor for Krishnapatnam port in Andhra Pradesh.

KRCL was formed as a joint venture company to develop 114-km rail corridor between Obulavaripalli in Kadapa district and Krishnapatnam with an estimated project cost of Rs 18.50 billion.

The corridor will connect Krishnapatnam port on the east coast with Indian Railways' network  at Venkatachalam and Obulavaraipalli. A 21-km section of the project line from Krishnapatnam to Venkatachalam was converted to double line in March 2014.

"This is an extremely exciting project for KRCL. The new rail corridor connecting Kadapa city with Krishnapatnam Port will help optimise costs, accelerate growth whilst enhancing the city's EXIM competitiveness," said KRCL managing director Anil Yendluri.

The KRCL has five joint venture partners: namely Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (30 per cent stake), Krishnapatnam Port Company Limited (30 per cent), NMDC Limited (15 per cent), Andhra Pradesh government (13 per cent), and BIL (12 per cent).