Indian Railways may choose BOT model for dedicated freight corridors: Rpt

Indian Railways might soon opt for the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model for constructing dedicated freight corridors (DFCs) by getting private players on board, according to a Moneycontrol report.
 

This will be a first for Indian Railways after the road construction sector went the BOT way. Under the model, a private entity is responsible for designing, building, financing, maintaining, and transferring a project back to the government or to another private entity.
 

The BOT model will be first implemented on a small stretch of Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) between Sonnagar in Bihar and West Bengal’s Dankuni. The under-construction EDFC will run between Ludhiana in Punjab and Dankuni in West Bengal.
 

The 538-km stretch is expected to cost Rs 15,000 crore. The current model has raised interest from major players, including L&T, GMR, Tata Projects, and foreign firms like DP World, according to the report.
 

The BOT model could be implemented in other DFCs announced in the Union Budget early this month depending on the success of the Sonnagar-Dankuni stretch.