CHENNAI: The State Bank of India will provide a Rs 450 crore loan to fund the Chennai Metro Rail Phase-II (Koyambedu-Sipcot) project and for procuring 30 train cars. According to the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), `150 crore will be utilised towards Phase-II work and Rs 300 crore towards procurement of 30 train cars under the Rupee Term Loan with SBI.
This is the first time that the CMRL has tied up with a domestic commercial bank for funds regarding the Phase-II work, a press release said. Dr Prasanna Kumar Acharya, Director-Finance on behalf of the CMRL issued the ‘letter of award’ to Jaleel Hasanath Syed Umar, Additional General Manager SBI, Chennai.
The `61,843 crore worth Phase II project is yet to be cleared by the union government despite it being recommended by the Public Investment Board two years ago. Owing to this, the state government has been funding the project for the last two years.