Even as the Union Cabinet on Thursday approved setting up of an electric and a diesel locomotive manufacturing plant in the Rashtriya Janata Dal?s stronghold of Madhepura and Marhowra, RJD supremo and railway minister Lalu Prasad is all set to wrap up yet another big-ticket project? the long-pending launch of the eastern arm of the dedicated freight corridor running from Ludhiana to Sonenagar.
The 1,279 km-long eastern corridor is scheduled to be inaugurated by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Prasad on February 10 in Dalmianagar. The railways have already initiated construction of the corridor and has begun awarding tenders for a number of stretches, such as a segment from Kanpur to Aligarh.
But work on major portions of the eastern and the western arm of the Rs 40,000 crore dedicated freight corridor continues to be stalled because of lack of funding, an official said. While the Asian Development Bank is keen to provide Rs 7,200 crore to finance the 430-km stretch between Khurja and Ludhiana, the railway ministry is yet to get a final commitment from the World Bank and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
JBIC has promised to lend Rs 18,000 crore for constructing the 920-km stretch between Rewari and Vadodara on the western corridor, but the loan is expected to be secured by December this year. Meanwhile, the World Bank has given an in-principle nod for a loan of Rs 12,000 crore for the 730-km Mughalsarai-Khurja section, but the funds are expected to materialise only by early next year.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet?s nod to the two locomotive projects based in Bihar, will now allow Rail Bhawan to award the project. The tenders for the two projects will be finalised by February 12. But the Planning Commission wanted the railway ministry to first get approval from the Cabinet.
The factories will be set up under a joint venture between the ministry of railways, which will hold 26% equity, and a leading international manufacturer. At the technical qualification level, GE and EMD have been short-listed for the Rs 1,000 crore diesel loco unit at Marhowra; and Alstom, Bombardier and Siemens have been short-listed for the electric loco unit at Madhepura, which is expected to cost Rs 1,294 crore.
The two units, to be set up on a build-operate-transfer-basis will provide 1,000 diesel engines and 800 electric locomotives to Indian Railways over a 10-year period. These locos will also be maintained by the joint venture company for the next 25- 26 years.