Nagpur: In a major boost to the proposed Metro Rail project in the city, a French company Agence Française de Développement (AFD) will loan an amount of 1500 crore for the ambitious 7,600 crore Metro Rail project at a minimal interest rate. A delegation of three officers will visit the city on February 26 to complete the formalities for the same, informed sources.
Earlier, during the Nagpur trip of the company’s officers in December 2014, the team had visited Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) to take stock of the progress of the project. However, the delegation returned as they did not see any substantial progress.
After Brajesh Dixit took over as the managing director of Nagpur Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (NMRCL), the work gathered momentum and the NMRCL completed the task, that would normally require six months, in 45 days. This helped approve the project soon and NMRCL was registered.
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05 May 2025
Land acquired
Fifty per cent of the land required for the project has been acquired and the remaining acquisition work is expected to be over by March-end. Some days ago, the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) handed over 37.4 hectares of land to the company.
Another 26.07 hectare patch of land owned by SRPF will also be handed over in the coming days. The district collectorte has started paper work for the same. With this, the company would have acquired 80 per cent of the total land required for the project.
The company will present the current status of the project before the French delegation coming next month, after which the loan is likely to be sanctioned.
The project was inaugurated by prime minister Narendra Modi in August 2014. The Metro Railway Corporation has proposed two corridors for the project that will run North-South and East-West totalling 38.125 kilometers. The company will be chaired by Madhusudan Prasad
A sketch of the proposed Metro rail office
