World Bank to give another $1.1 b for eastern freight corridor.

The Government and the World Bank recently signed a $1.1-billion deal for a second loan for the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor.

The project was approved by the World Bank board in April. The Eastern corridor is 1,839-km-long and extends from Ludhiana to Kolkata.

An earlier loan of $975 million for the 343-km Khurja-Kanpur section in the EDFC programme was approved by the World Bank board in May 2011 and is already under implementation.

Another major contract for systems is under evaluation, an official release said.

Ninety per cent of the 1,245-hectare land needed for the project has been acquired from 22,000 land owners with Rs. 336 crore paid as compensation in addition to the agreed resettlement and rehabilitation benefits.


HBL