India is the largest beneficiary of European Investment Bank’s transport financing outside Europe, said Nicola Beer, vice-president of the bank’s financing arm of the European Union, which formally announced to lend €300 million (₹2,800 crore) to the ₹15,767-crore Bengaluru suburban railway network.
Beer was in Gandhinagar on Friday to participate in the 17th Urban Mobility India Conference and Expo, where she said the EIB has provided €3.25 billion or ₹30,225 crore for building transport infrastructure across India since 2016. This includes financing metro projects in Agra, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Kanpur, Lucknow and Pune.
The €300 million-loan is meant to build four dedicated rail corridors in Bengaluru which will cover a network of 149 km including 58 stations and two depots. Already, 20 per cent of the Bengaluru suburban rail project is being funded by the Karnataka government and the Centre each. The remaining 60 per cent is coming through loans which include a €500 million (₹4,552 crore)-loan from Germany’s KfW Development Bank.
“Home to around 14 million people, the population of Bengaluru is expected to reach 20 million by 2030. EIB has already supported the city’s transportation sector with a €500 million loan to build 23 kms of Bengaluru Metro’s R6 line and for purchasing a fleet of 96 metro cars,” the EIB official added.
Awadhesh Mehta, Director of finance of Karnataka Rail Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (KRIDE) said that the work on the Bengaluru suburban railway network has started and 50 per cent of the project is scheduled to be completed by December 2026.