New Project of Railway Construction: Railway Infrastructure in India

Indian Ministry of Railways has signed an agreement with the Government of Odisha to create a joint venture (JV) to develop railway infrastructure in the state. The JV company will be 49% owned by the railway and 51% owned by the state government. It will identify development projects and find finance sources to execute them. It is reported that after finances for a project are tied, project-specific special purpose vehicles (SPV) shall be formed, which can have other stake-holders from industry, central public sector undertakings (PSUs), and state PSUs. New JVs will also be set up to monitor critical rail projects to cater growing demands for railway lines in various states. Consent has been given by 17 state governments to form JVs in partnership with the ministry, which have also sent draft MoUs to these governments and held discussions to clarify various provisions. MoUs have already been signed by the governments of the Indian states of Odisha, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, and Haryana.