$450m Bank Loan For Agra-Calcutta National Highway

The National Highways Authority of India has negotiated a $450 million loan from the World Bank for four-laning of 477 km of national highway connecting Agra to Calcutta (NH2). NHAI expects to get clearance from the World Bank Board for the $450 m loan, the first tranche of an overall $950 million loan, by June 30.

NHAI chairman Deepak Dasgupta went to Washington to negotiate the loan from the bank.

After the clearance of first tranche of loan, NHAI would negotiate for a second tranche of $500 million loan from the bank.

One senior NHAI official told Business Standard that the clearance of the loan by June 30 is crucial as the bank would start a new fiscal year from July 1. Non-clearance of the first tranche of loan in this financial year, would further delay the approval of the second part of the loan.

 

The loan will have a 25-year debt repayment period with five years of moratorium.

The first phase of project is expected to be completed within three years.

The official said NHAI would award the contracts for development of whole of NH2 by March 2001.

According to the official, while the loans from the World Bank will take care of 70 per cent of the project cost, the rest would be taken care by NHAI by provision of counter funds in parts.

The four-laning of 1,010 km long highway connecting Agra to Calcutta will cost Rs 4,040 crore with around Rs 4 crore spent for four-laning of each kilometre. The NH2 of 200 km connecting Delhi to Agra has been already four-laned.

The NH2 is a part of the Golden Quadrangle Project which would connect four metropolitan cities and major cities of the country.

The Golden Quadrilateral has been merged with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's project of north-south and east-west corridor.

The integrated National Highway Development Project would be executed by NHAI. The total project cost is pegged at Rs 58,000 crore.

Vajpayee asked the complete the substantial portion of golden quandrangle project by 2003. Construction on 900km kas already been started with 37 projects.