Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed an agreement to provide long-term financing of $750 million equivalent in Indian rupees — the largest single non-sovereign loan ever committed by ADB — to the Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC), to fund the Railways track electrification project, said a release.

It is part of a broad modernisation programme that will help the railways transition to electric power and move away from dependence on fossil fuels. Concurrently, with the signing of the loan agreement, risk participation agreements were signed with private risk participants for the project, said an ADB release.

IRFC, an entity owned by the Centre, will use the loan proceeds to install electric traction equipment along approximately 3,378 km of existing railway lines, which will enable the migration of passenger and freight traffic from diesel to electric traction. The electrification assets will be leased to the Indian Railways, the country’s national railway system, under a long-term lease agreement.

“This is a flagship project demonstrating ADB’s strategy of supporting key state-owned enterprises in strategic sectors,” said ADB Vice-President for Private Sector Operations and Public-Private Partnerships, Diwakar Gupta.

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