29 August, 2017
Railway Along with NBCC Plans to Develop 10 Railway Stations
Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) has signed a MoU with National Building Construction Corporation for redevelopment of 10 railway stations across the country at par with international standards. The Railways has embarked on this ambitious project to redevelop 403 stations on PPP mode with the participation of private players, public sector and with the assistance of foreign funding.
The identi ed stations to be taken up initially by NBCC for redevelopment are Tirupati, Sarai Rohilla (Delhi), Nellore, Puducherry, Madgao, Lucknow, Gomtinagar, Kota, Thane (New) and Ernakulam. NBCC has been given 10 stations in rst phase for redevelopment and more stations would be given to them in subsequent phases.
RLDA and NBCC shall form a Special Purpose Vehicle in the form of a joint venture company to execute the station redevelopment project. The JV shall redevelop the stations on a self- nancing model. These stations would be developed as smart railway stations.
Union Govt. and ADB Sign a USD 220 Million Deal to Augment Road Network in Rajasthan
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India on Monday signed a USD 220 million loan agreement for augmenting connectivity, achieving transport ef ciency and safety on the state highways in Rajasthan.
The loan is the rst tranche of the USD 500 million, Rajasthan State Highways Investment Program, approved by the ADB Board in May this year. The proceeds of the loan would be utilized towards upgrading about 2,000 kilometers of state highways and major district roads to two-lane or intermediate-lane standards to meet road safety requirements.
According to ADB, the objective of the program is to attract private sector nancing through government capacity building on public private partnership (PPP) development. The ADB will nance part of the construction costs for the
annuity-based PPP concessions and engineering procurement construction (EPC) contracts, enhance the stability of contract regime, and ensure good governance during project implementation.
International Finance Corporation Invest $ 103 million in L&T Infrastructure Finance Through Green Bonds
IFC has invested Rs 667 crore ($103 million) in L&T Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd by subscribing to India’s first issue of green bonds.
According to IFC, this is in line with IFC’s strategy to support renewable energy infrastructure in the country and also develop the capital markets.
L&T Infrastructure, a wholly owned unit of L&T Finance Holdings Ltd, would utilize this money to lend to solar power projects. The company has been increasing its focus on renewable energy, which comprises one-third of its total portfolio of Rs 22,774 crore.
Proceeds from the Green Bonds are used for projects or assets of renewable energy, clean transport, sustainable water or land management, climate change adaptation and energy ef ciency.
India’s renewable energy sector has been buzzing with activity over the past few years after the government unveiled ambitious capacity addition targets. The government aims to achieve 175 GW of renewable power generation capacity by 2022. This includes 100 GW of solar and 60 GW of wind power capacity. India’s renewable energy capacity is currently around 44 GW.
IFC had launched a green bond programme in 2010 to help push investments in private sector projects that support renewable energy and energy ef ciency.
For further information, please contact:
Vineet Aneja, Partner, Clasis Law
vineet.aneja@clasislaw.com
