Kerala asked to start getting land for `64K-cr speed rail project

The Union finance ministry has finally approved the revised debt-fund raising plan for the Rs 64,000crore semi-high speed rail project connecting Kerala capital Thiruvananthapuram with its northern tip Kasaragod, a top state official has said.

The Japanese development agency Jica had earlier committed to provide Rs 33,700 crore, which was approved by the Union finance ministry as well in

2019, but later Jica massively curtailed its exposure, following which the Union finance ministry asked the state to submit a revised debt raising plan.

In a Jan. 5 letter to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman asked Kerala Rail Development Corporation (K-Rail), the nodal implementation agency, to expedite land acquisition for the most ambitious project of the state till date, the official said.

The Centre has also directed K-Rail to reengage with Japan International Cooperative Agency (Jica) to finalise the funding for the Rs

63,941 crore semi-highspeed rail Silver Line as it is named, connecting Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod and covering the 529.45-km ride in four hours against over 12 hours now. The line will cover Thiruvananthapuram-Ernakulam/Kochi stretch in flat 90 minutes, against over four hours now.

Under the revised debt funding plan submitted and approved by the Centre, Kerala has nearly halved the Jica loan to $2.5 billion from $4.6 billion earlier. K-Rail is also seeking $1 billion from the Asian Development Bank,

$500 million from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and $460 million from the German development agency KfW, K-Rail managing director V. Ajith Kumar told PTI over the weekend.