RInfra achieves fin closure for Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd metro

MUMBAI: Anil Ambani-led Reliance Infrastructure today said it has achieved the financial closure for the Rs 11,500-crore Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd metro rail project it is executing.

The 32-km Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd line, envisaged to be the city's second metro rail, has achieved commitments for the entire debt component of Rs 7,000-crore, a release issued by R-Infra said here.

The transaction of getting the financial closure was led by private sector lender Axis Bank, which also gave the highest commitment for the debt, R Infra's Chief Executive, Lalit Jalan, told PTI here.

The financial closure was achieved in less than the stipulated time of nine-months and is by far the biggest for a public private partnership project, the R-Infra release said.

Equity for the project would be infused primarily by R-Infra while the Government of Maharashtra will be contributing Rs 2,298-crore as the viability gap funding.

The project is being implemented by Mumbai Metro Transport Private Limited, a special purpose vehicle consisting of R-Infra, Reliance Communication and Canada's SNC Lavalin Inc.

Construction on the line is expected to commence "shortly" and the line will be integrated with the suburban rail network and the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar metro which is scheduled to be operational next year.