France to fund Kochi, Bengaluru and Nagpur Metro rail projects

Building upon its commitment to aid Make in India project, France is looking to fund the second phase of Bangalore and Kochi Metro projects and Nagpur Metro project, said France’s envoy to India Francois Richier.

Speaking at the event organised at the French embassy in New Delhi on May 27, the French envoy underlined that France was committed to working with India on some very important issues, including enhancing bilateral relations in the field of sustainable development and smart city project.

France’s public financial institution Agence Francaise de Development (AFD) is funding the metro rail projects. As part of its earlier commitment of euro 1 billion, the institution has spent nearly half of the amount funding the metro rail project in Kochi and Bengaluru. A delegation of AFD is on a two-day visit to India to figure out and discuss how the projects that could be funded.

During India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to France in April 2015, France’s President Francois Hollande had extended the line of credit of euro 1 billion for three years to euro 2 billion over the next four-and-half years to support India’s sustainable development projects and smart city project.

France has shown interest in developing several other projects, including a solid waste management plant in Puducherry and sewage plant in Chennai. “The phase 2 of Kochi and Bangalore Metros and phase 1 of Nagpur Metro are in the pipeline and there is a possibility that these projects could be funded by the AFD. However, this is only a part of the total funding required for these projects,” said S. Selvakumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs.

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