The Hindu Business Line : Freight corridor: 15 cos submit EoI for advisory services

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New Delhi March 5 In order to provide advisory services for the dedicated freight corridor project of the Indian Railways, about 15 companies that include financial consultancy firms and international heavy haul railroad operators have submitted their `expressions of interest' to the Indian Railways.

The companies include NM Rothschild, PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, SBI Capital, Canadian Railway and heavy haul operators from Australia and the US, according to official sources. The companies are expected to help establish financial projections, capital structure and financing options for the dedicated freight corridor SPV.

Applications of all these firms would be evaluated on various parameters, including expertise and experience in heavy haul operations, and those firms who qualify in the process would be empanelled. Bids would then be invited for further advisory works relating to the dedicated freight corridor.

The consultants are likely to help the Indian Railways develop a concession agreement between Ministry of Railways and the SPV — Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd (DFCCIL) — apart from helping fix the track access charges.

They would also be expected to help in packaging the various contracts (such as helping find what parts of the project should be done through engineering procurement contract and what parts should be implemented through public private partnerships or PPPs).

Additionally, they are expected to advise on the bidding framework, including various evaluation parameters and draft concession agreements for PPP packages, joint ventures and project documentation.

With the Indian Railways utilising capacity at 140 per cent on both Eastern and Western routes, the Eastern and Western freight corridors would be build at a cost of Rs 28,181 crore during the Eleventh Plan period. This proposal has received the Union Cabinet approval as well.

DFCCIL would have an authorised capital of Rs 4,000 crore to be increased subsequently depending on the requirement. The project would be funded through budgetary resources, borrowings, internal generation, bilateral and multilateral funding, among others.

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