DFCCIL is set to develop 263.7 km long EDF corridor

New Delhi: Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL), a PSU under the Ministry of Railways is set to develop a 263.7 km Sonnagar to Gomoh section of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDCF). The corridor will be developed on Public-Private Participation (PPP) mode at an estimated cost of Rs 9,800 crores.

For investors participation, DFCCIL had organised a roadshow inaugurated by Managing Director (MD) Anurag Sachan on Wednesday at National Rail Museum, New Delhi. Around 30 potential investors from 22 organisations participated in the roadshow. Participants included Vladimir A. Finov of RZD International (Russian Railways), Shogo Saito from Sojitz Corporation, Sajal Mitra from Adani Ports & Logistics and senior representatives from Tata Projects, RITES, DMICDC, Reliance Industries, IRCON, NTPC, JICA, GMR Infrastructure etc. Sachan welcomed the stakeholders and the probable partners in the roadshow and assured them of full cooperation.

What is in this project?

The proposed section traverses through the mineral-rich region of the country and serves major power plants, industrial hubs and logistics parks located in Northern India. This project is expected to serve as a benchmark for the development of PPP projects by Indian Railways. The section is expected to serve major powerhouses, industrial corridors and MMLPs in the Haryana, Punjab, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Increasing trends in finished steel consumption and production would drive the growth of steel traffic on the route. Further, to attract more traffic and achieve targeted rail share of freight, DFCCIL would develop MMLPs, Sidings and Feeder routes for last-mile connectivity along the section alignment. The section is expected to handle 100 Rakes/day in both directions with total freight traffic of 231 GMT by FY 2045.

The PPP section is backed by a guarantee for Annuity Payments with 90 percent of the land to be available at Bid Stage and 98 percent of the land would be ensured at the time of signing of Concession Agreement. The environmental and forest clearance would be obtained by DFCCIL before signing of agreement ensuring the success of the project, DFCCIL said in a press release.

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