Banks want to withdraw from airport metro line project
24 Jun 2013 5:41 AM IST
Senior representatives from the concerned banks recently met directors of work and finance of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). The banks which were represented at the meeting are Axis Bank, Dena Bank, Punjab National Bank, Central Bank of India and Canara Bank.
Following the development, concessionaire company – The Delhi Airport Metro Private Limited (DAMEPL) – officials also met with Delhi chief minister, Delhi chief secretary and DMRC’s managing director. They registered protest against the move by the banks.
The express line was built by DMRC in a span of 27 months with an expenditure of Rs 5,600 crore. It was scheduled to be operational before 2010 Commonwealth Games, but DAMEPL failed to meet several deadlines and finally the line became partially operational in February 2011.
However, on 8 July 2012, the line was closed on the pretext of technical defects. The operations were restarted in January 2013. When the operation was suspended, the DAMEPL expressed inability to operate the corridor citing financial non-viability and issued notice for termination of concessionaire agreement which was disputed by the Delhi Metro.
According to sources, DAMEPL is incurring losses of over Rs 50 crore a month. They are supposed to pay Rs 64 crore as rent to Delhi Metro every month, but their total revenue collection is around Rs 22 crore a month. The revenue expected to be generated in 2013-14 from the operation is estimated at Rs 1,730.85 crore. According to sources: ‘The technical glitches have been overcome but its financial position is in very bad shape. It is perceived that this corridor is running at Rs 300 crore annual financial losses.’
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