Japan to give Rs 7,361 crore for infra projects in India

NEW DELHI: Japan International Cooperation Agency ( JICA) has agreed to Rs 7,361 crore as a soft loan to India for various infrastructure projects in India. The loan will cover six development projects in the areas of power, transportation, forestation and energy to support India’s efforts to improve its infrastructure.

The loan amount will also focus of projects that will help accelerate the spread of new and renewable energy and energy conservation projects using Japanese technology.

The projects include two power projects in Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh respectively, Bangalore metro rail project, a bio diversity project in Rajasthan, an energy saving project for small and medium industries and a renewable energy project.

The Japanese commitment comes at a time when the Indian government was skeptical of Japanese contribution on account of the recent devastation in the country due to earthquake and tsunami.

“I hope that this will send a positive message that our level of assistance towards India will remain stable even after earthquake and tsunami that have recently hit our country,” said Shunichi Yamanaka, chief representative of JICA in India.

JICA, as an aid donor agency of the Japanese government, provides concessionary loans (ODA loans), grant aid, and technical cooperation to countries. It has supported many projects in India, the most significant of which is the first two phases of the Delhi metro rail project. It has also agreed to support the phase 3 of the Delhi metro is expected to cost Rs 28,000 crore covering 6 corridors that are part of the plan as of now.