Infrastructure major L&T Ltd, which has bagged the mandate to implement the Rs 12,136 crore Hyderabad Metro project, has indicated to Andhra Pradesh Government that it has achieved financial closure about two weeks ahead of the deadline.

The concessionaire has managed to close funds for this ambitious project, which is considered to be amongst the biggest public-private partnership projects in the country, and the only one taken up in this mode. L&T had secured the project having sought least viability gap funding of Rs 1,452 crore, assuring to mobilise rest of the fund (about Rs 10,674 crore) all by itself through debt and equity.

Guarantee

The company has already paid performance guarantee of Rs 360 crore and bid guarantee amount of Rs 240 crore.

The Managing Director of Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd, Mr N.V.S. Reddy, confirmed the development but refrained from divulging other details, as the Assembly session was now underway. “The project is set to take off,” he said.

The project was awarded to L&T in the second bidding process after the first contract awarded to the consortium headed by Maytas Infra Ltd was cancelled, as it filed to achieve financial closure in spite of extension of time. The scam-hit company, which did not seek any viability gap funding for the project, has to do without this prestigious deal.

The Metro project envisages developing a 71-km of elevated rail network to decongest three dense corridors in Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

Lately, there have been some concerns by a section of people about the alignment of the project.

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