Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL), which hopes to start operations between Rewari-Palanpur and Kanpur-Khurja by 2017, has lined up civil, electrical and signalling contracts for award over the next six months (by March 2015).
The contracts include electrical and signalling and telecom works for the Kanpur-Khurja stretch as well as a civil contract for Mughalsari-Kanpur stretch – both of which will be funded by the World Bank. Other projects include an electrical contract for Rewari-Makarpura (Vadodara) and Rewari-Palanpur, and a civil contract for Vadodara-Vaitarana, which are in the Western corridor.
The projects have to be awarded within the time to meet not just the intermediate targets but also the longer term target of having the Eastern and Western dedicated freight corridor in place by 2019, official sources said.
A 50-km stretch of Sonnagar-Mughalsarai is expected to be operational in a few months, while a much larger stretch – Kanpur-Khurja and Rewari-Palanpur – are expected to be operational by 2017. These two stretches will add significant capacity to the network.
The Eastern and Western rail freight corridor projects are expected to be game changers in the country by creating the much required rail transportation capacity. The Western corridor is being funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency, while the Eastern corridor project is being funded by the World Bank.
Earlier this year, the DFCCIL had also signed an agreement with its parent organisation – the Indian Railways – which defined its mandate beyond being a special purpose vehicle for constructing the corridors. As per the concession agreement, DFCCIL is permitted to work for business development and develop terminals.
CorridorsThe Eastern freight corridor is expected to carry bulk cargo, such as coal, steel, fertiliser, while the Western corridor is expected to bring in more non-conventional cargo, largely moved by roads, such as containers, roll-on roll-off, automobile transportation, among others.
The Western corridor stretch is of 1,499 km, connecting Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai to Rewari/Dadri near New Delhi. The 1,839 km Eastern corridor is proposed from Ludhiana in Punjab to Sonnagar, and further connecting Dankuni.
The estimated cost of the project is ₹86,000 crore, including ₹8,000 crore for land acquisition. The project cost includes an equity contribution of ₹26,000 crore and a debt of about ₹52,000 crore from JICA and World Bank. The cost excludes the Sonnagar-Dankuni section, which has to be on a private-public partnership basis.