European bank, state govt ink ₹1.6K-cr pact for Pune Metro

The Pune Metro project got a major boost on Friday as the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation (Maha-Metro) signed a loan agreement of ₹1,600 crore for the project, in a meeting chaired by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray at Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC).

The Pune Metro project got a major boost on Friday as the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation (Maha-Metro) signed a loan agreement of ₹1,600 crore for the project, in a meeting chaired by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray at Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC).

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EIB, European Union’s (EU) lending institution, had agreed to lend a total of ₹4,800 crore for the project in three instalments at an interest rate of 0.35%. On Thursday, EIB officials conducted a site visit of the on-going Metro work in Pune.

Thackeray said the loan will immensely benefit in accelerating the work for the Pune Metro project. He also requested EIB to fund the Nashik Metro project and other infrastructure works in the state.

Funds from EIB will mainly be utilised to finance civil works of the underground section and the depot, officials said. The 32.5-km-long Pune Metro corridor has been divided into four ridges. Of this, the 5km-long route between Shivaji Nagar and Swargate will be underground. Officials said 37% of the civil works have been completed so far.

Along with EIB, Maha-Metro had also roped in French Development Agency (AFD) – France’s public financial institution – to fund the ₹11,420-crore project. AFD will invest ₹1,012 crore in the Pune Metro project.