Cabinet Approves Revised Cost Estimate for Freight Corridor Project

New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved the revised cost estimate of Rs 81,459 crore for the Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) Project, including land costs and financing plan.

DFC aims to spur economic growth and is being created for the exclusive movement of freight.

Cleared by CCEA, which is headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the revised cost estimate comprises construction cost of Rs 73,392 crore.

While the 1,839-km-long Eastern DFC from Ludhiana to Dankuni is estimated to cost Rs 26,674 crore, the construction of the 1,499-km-long Western DFC from Dadri to Jawaharlal Nehru Port will involve an expenditure of Rs 46,178 crore.

Earlier, CCEA in March, 2008 had given its approval for implementation of the Eastern and Western DFC projects with an expenditure of over Rs 28,181 crore, out of which Rs 13,000 crore have been incurred on the same.

The approval for the revised cost estimate was essential for proceeding with project implementation and entering into commitments.

The land acquisition cost for the project will be Rs 8,067 crore. This excludes the cost of the 534-km Sonnagar-Dankuni section proposed to be implemented through the public-private partnership (PPP) route.

Of the total requirement of Rs 81,459 crore for DFC, Rs 76,143 crore is needed during project construction, as interest during construction of Rs 5,316 crore for the Western DFC is needed to be paid by rail ministry to finance ministry after a moratorium period of 10 years.

For DFC, Rs 52,347 crore would flow as debt from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and World Bank. Equity requirement from Railway Ministry (including land) for the project is Rs 23,796 crore.

The entire Western Corridor is being funded by JICA while the Eastern Corridor from Mughalsarai to Ludhiana is being funded by World Bank.