Centre asks metro to seek Delhi govt’s help to repay loan

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had taken a soft loan of Rs 35,198 crore for construction work from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

The Union housing and urban affairs (HUA) ministry has asked Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to approach the Delhi government for financial assistance to repay its loan instalment for this year.

With Metro shut since March 22 due to the Coronavirus pandemic, DMRC has suffered a revenue loss of about Rs 1,300 crore. Last month, it had written to the Centre, requesting it to defer the payment to next year. (Bloomberg Photo)

The DMRC had taken a soft loan of Rs 35,198 crore for construction work from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

With Metro shut since March 22 due to the Coronavirus pandemic, DMRC has suffered a revenue loss of about Rs 1,300 crore. Last month, it had written to the Centre, requesting it to defer the payment to next year.

Anuj Dayal, executive director, corporate communication, DMRC, said, “We have received such a communication from the ministry recently. The same is being examined and processed. “

The DMRC is yet to write to the Delhi government or take a decision in this regard.

The Delhi government spokesperson did not offer a comment.

A ministry official said they asked DMRC to contact the state government for financial aid.

DMRC has repaid Rs 3,337 crore of the loan to JICA. According to another DMRC official, Metro has to pay Rs 1242.83 crore as instalment for the financial year 2020-21.

According to the DMRC official, “The Metro has paid Rs 79.19 crore on account of interest for this financial year and the balance liability of Rs 1163.64 crore is yet to be paid.”

The loan has been granted at a concessional rate of interest, varying from 1.2% to 2.3%, and has to be repaid in 30 years with a moratorium period of 10 years.

The Metro, which has a network of 389km with 285 stations, earns nearly Rs 3,600 crore from fare and by renting out its space at stations to commercial establishments.

Commercial establishments operating at metro stations had written to the DMRC to defer rental payments as there had been no business since March.

There are about 400 shops apart from property development at stations such as Nehru Place and HUDA City Centre, etc., which attracts a lot of crowd due to the restaurants. DMRC is yet to take a decision in this regard.