KOTTAYAM (Metro Rail News): Kerala Rail Development Corporation Ltd (K-Rail) stated that there is still a chance to receive foreign funding for its flagship SilverLine Semi High-Speed Rail Corridor project. Four organizations including the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) have submitted requests for overseas loans to the respective central ministry. If the railway board presents a favourable report for the projects then only the ministry will grant the proposals.
The central ministry advised K-Rail in response to the RTI request that the SilverLine project had been removed from the list of projects eligible for funding from JICA.
JICA could not be approached as the exclusive foreign finance source for the SilverLine project as stated by K-Rail. According to the agency’s instructions the request for an overseas loan was withdrawn in 2018. K-Rail has requested financial assistance from ADB, AIIB and KFW along with JICA because JICA had promised that the money could be realised with the help of a few more organisations. A new request was made in April 2021, which also includes JICA.
An application should be submitted to the central ministry for approval in order to secure overseas loans. The ministry will review the project’s specifics and reports before approving it. The report has to be made by the railway board in the case of SilverLine project.
