Excerpt from Hindustan Times , reported by HT Correspondent, July 20, 2010 Read Full Article
With the 146-km Metro project cost escalating from Rs 19,525 crore to Rs 47,092 crore, the city’s planning body proposes to seek loans from international banks to finance the project. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is contemplating taking a loan of $20 billion (approximately Rs 20,000 crore) to build seven Metro lines.
“We are looking at international financial institutions to finance our Metro projects in the city. Officials from the World Bank and the Japanese Bank of International Cooperation have shown keen interest in participating in the Metro projects,” said Metropolitan Commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad.
“We will need finance for many of our future Metro projects because some of these will be built underground, making the project costlier,” he added.
