Showing posts with label Bangalore Metro Rail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bangalore Metro Rail. Show all posts

India: Record EIB loan - EUR 500m for Bangalore Metro

6 October 2017 | European Investment Bank (EIB) 
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The European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide EUR 500 million to support the construction of a new 18 station Rapid Transit line in Bangalore and the purchase of 96 train cars for use on the line. This support for investment to expand the second longest urban metro system in the country is the largest ever EIB loan in India and also the largest ever support for sustainable transport outside Europe. 
 
The loan agreement was formally exchanged by Andrew McDowell, EIB Vice President and representatives of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of India at the 14th India – European Union summit. The formal exchange of contracts was attended by Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, Donald Tusk, President of the European Council and Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, and other senior political representatives from India and the European Union. 
 
The new support for investment by Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation to improve city transport is the largest ever support for sustainable transport outside Europe and will cut travel times for some journeys from 2 hours today to 15 minutes when the new line is complete. 
 
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is expected support the project in the first ever joint financing between the EIB and AIIB. 
 
“Daily travel for hundreds of thousands people on the Namma Metro will be transformed by expanding urban transport in Bangalore. The impressive Reach 6 project shows how a world city is providing 21st century sustainable transport for its citizens. The EUR 500 million financing agreed with the European Investment Bank, the Bank of the European Union, demonstrates Europe’s commitment to support world class climate related investment across Asia and the increased momentum of EIB financing for urban transport across India. This new loan follows backing for the impressive Lucknow Metro announced with Prime Minister Modi last year and stronger engagement here in India through our New Delhi office opened last March.” said Andrew McDowell, European Investment Bank Vice President responsible for South Asia. The EIB is the world's largest international public bank and is owned by the 28 European Union member states. 
 
Speaking at the summit, the EU Ambassador to India H.E. Tomasz Kozlowski said that “The loan for the Bangalore Metro will contribute greatly to a project that will reduce traffic congestion and pollution in a city that has seen explosive growth in recent years.” 
 
“Successful implementation of Phase 1 of Bangalore Metro has transformed sustainable transport in the city. Working with the European Investment Bank is both helping to finance new stations and trains, and share technical experience from projects around the world.” added Pradeep Singh Kharola, Managing Director of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited, a joint venture of the Government of India and the Government of Karnataka. 
 
Once operational in 2021 the new 22km Reach 6 metro line will transform transport in the southern Indian city. The project includes both underground tunnels and elevated tracks. Economic activity in the Karnataka State capital will benefit from reduced journey time and lower costs. The improved transport links are also expected to reduce green-house gas emissions. 
 
Reach 6 is a key part of the second phase of the Bangalore Metro and a key component of the future rail link to Bangalore Airport. More than 800 people are expected to be employed during construction. 
 
The loan agreement was signed by Andrew McDowell, European Investment Bank Vice President at the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of India ahead of the 14th India – European Union summit. Representatives of the Ministry of Finance, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank are present at the contract signature. 
 
The Bangalore Metro is the first infrastructure project to be jointly financed by the European Investment Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. It is the EIB’s second sovereign loan with the Republic of India. 
 
The European Investment Bank is one of world’s largest financiers for transport worldwide. Over the last five years it has provided more than EUR 70 billion for transport investment around the world. 
 
As well as providing EUR 450 million for construction of the new Lucknow Metro, In recent years the EIB has supported investment in urban transport across Asia in Hanoi, Vientiane and Bangladesh. The EIB is also backing expansion of sustainable transport across Europe, Latin America and Africa including in London, Paris, Dublin, Buenos Aires, Antananarivo and Cairo. 

Initial Observations of Growthwatch on Bangalore Metro Rail Line Project


The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) under Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), formed jointly in September 1994 by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs of the Government of India (GOI) and the Ministry of Transport of the Government of Karnataka (GOK). The BMRCL started constructing 42.3 Bangalore Metro Rail in April 2015 and after completion of first phase it had planned for the second phase. There are 6 routes in the planned second phase named (a) Mysore Road Terminal to Kengeri (b) Baiyappanahalli to ITPL - Whitefield (c) Hesaraghatta Cross to BIEC (d) Puttenahalli Cross to Anjanapura Township (up to NICE Road) (e) Gottigere to Nagavara (Line - 6) and (f) R.V. Road to Bommasandra (Line - 5). To implement the almost 23 km long Gottigere to Nagavara reach (Line - 6), BMRCL sought a loan from European Investment Bank (EIB) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Subsequently EIB approved a multi tranche loan of Euro 500 million and AIIB approved a loan of USD 335 million. 

Land Acquisition 

The Project entails the acquisition of about 33 hectares of land from BMRCL, 22.4 hectares held by private owners and about 3.2 hectares held by various public entities. In addition, approximately 27 common property assets, such as religious structures and local utilities, which may be affected due to the proposed alignment. As mentioned in Compensation and Resettlement Package (CRP) 2019, Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) is the responsible agency for acquisition of land according to the state law of Karnataka (KIADB Act 1966). Additionally 5.18 hectare (12.80 acre) of land will be taken for the project temporarily due to construction works. But the Draft Bengaluru Transit Oriented Development Policy (BTOD) 2019 will seriously affect the poor slum dwellers, hawkers and small shopkeepers who are not covered under the compensation plan. 

Displacement 

According to the EIA Report (August 2017), a total of 838 households will be affected, which includes 712 households linked to commercial units and 126 residential households. In addition, there are 153 tenants including 136 commercial and 17 residential families who will be affected due to the project. Based on the average household size of city it is estimated that about 3890 persons will be affected by the Project. As per the preliminary estimation carried out by BMRCL, a total of 698 private structures will be affected. Out of the 698 private structures, 642 are title holders and 56 are non-title holders. The loss of livelihood estimated under the project includes business loss by owners (712), loss of rental income by residential owner (17), loss of rental income by commercial owners (136), loss of business livelihood by commercial tenants (136) and commercial squatters (44). 

Environment 

The Environmental and Social Data Sheet of the project states that (a) About 1312 trees will be lost for construction of metro rail alignment as well as the depot area; (b) Local air pollution will increase due to rock crushing, cutting and filling works, and chemical emissions from asphalt processing; (c) Risks and vulnerabilities related to occupational health and safety will increase due to physical, chemical, biological, and radiological hazards during project construction and operation; (d) Dislocation or involuntary resettlement of people as there will be a need for land acquisition for elevated as well as underground sections and also for a Depot; (e) Dislocation and compulsory resettlement of people from shops living near the stations (f) Noise and vibration due to tunnelling boring machine, excavation machines, and materials hauling; (g) Increased noise and air pollution resulting from traffic volume during construction. 

Information Disclosure 

Timely and meaningful Information Disclosure is one of the basic conditions of large infrastructure project as per AIIB and EIB policies. A complete EIA report is to be submitted and approved for the project while ESIA report is required according to the EIB and AIIB environmental standards. The BMRCL developed its EIA report only in August 2017 while the trilateral agreement had been submitted in February 2017. The project document refers that all consultations for developing Resettlement Policy Framework has been uploaded and published on BMRCL Website, but the website says “You do not have permission to view this directory or page” if one clicks on the given link. No Resettlement Action Plan (RAP), Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) and Grievance Redress Mechanism (GRM) has been published yet. The project document confirms formation of a Social and Environmental Management Unit (SEMU), however no information is available in the public domain about the SEMU. 

Information Sources 

  1. AIIB (2017). Project Document: Bangalore Metro Rail Project –Line R6 (Project Number: 000038). Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Beijing: 20 November 2017. Accessed on 18 September 2019 
  2. AIIB (2019). Project Summary Information (PSI): Bangalore Metro Rail Project – Line R6 (Project Number: 000038). Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Beijing: 20 March 2019. Accessed on 25 September 2019 
  3. BMRCL (2017a). Environmental Impact Assessment Study (Gottigere-Nagavara Corridor): Bangalore Metro Rail Project: Phase - II: Final Report. Bangalore Metro Rail Line Corporation Limited (BMRCL), Bangalore: May 2017. Accessed on 5 October 2019 
  4. BMRCL (2017b). Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report: Bangalore Metro Rail Project - Line R6. Bangalore Metro Rail Line Corporation Limited (BMRCL), Bangalore: August 2017. Accessed on 5 October 2019 
  5. BMRCL. 2018. 12th Annual Report 2017-18. Bangalore Metro Rail Line Corporation Limited (BMRCL), Bangalore: 20 September 2018. Accessed on 6 October 2019 
  6. BMRCL. 2019. Compensation and Resettlement Package (CRP) 2019 applicable to Reach 6 of Phase-2 and Phase-2A & 2B. Bangalore Metro Rail Line Corporation Limited (BMRCL), Bangalore: 10 July 2019. Accessed on 6 October 2019 
  7. BMRCL. Undated. Social Assessment of Bangalore Metro Rail Project - Line 6. Bangalore Metro Rail Line Corporation Limited (BMRCL), Bangalore: Undated. Accessed on 6 October 2019 
  8. DMRCL. 2011. Detailed Project Report (DPR): Bangalore Metro Phase II: Gottigere - IIMB - Nagavara Corridor. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRCL), New Delhi: September 2011. Accessed on 5 October 2019 
  9. EIB. 2017a. Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF): Bangalore Metro Rail Project - Line R6 (Project Number: 2016-0816). European Investment Bank (EIB), Luxembourg: 7 July 2017. Accessed on 19 September 2019 
  10. EIB. 2017b. Environmental and Social Data Sheet (ESDS): Bangalore Metro Rail Project - Line 6 (Project Number: 2016-0816). European Investment Bank (EIB), Luxembourg: 18 July 2017. Accessed on 20 September 2019 
  11. EIB. 2017c. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report: Bangalore Metro Rail Project - Line 6 (Project Number: 2016-0816). European Investment Bank (EIB), Luxembourg: August 2017. Accessed on 21 September 2019 
  12. EIB. 2018. Environmental and Social Practices Handbook. European Investment Bank (EIB), Luxembourg: 8 October 2018. Accessed on 6 October 2019 
  13. GOK. 2019. Draft Bengaluru Transit Oriented Development Policy (BTOD). Government of Karnataka (GOK), Bengaluru: February 2019. Accessed on 7 October 2019 
  14. Ravi, P. 2018. 10 Extremely Relevant Facts About Poverty in Bangalore. Borgen Project, Seattle: 31 May 2018. Accessed on 6 October 2019 
  15. Zuckerman, E; Kugli, L. et al. 2018. Gender Scorecard & Analysis of AIIB Projects: Bangalore Metro Rail Project ‐ Line R6. Gender Action, Washington DC: June 2018 p32. Accessed on 19 September 2019
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