REC Limited, a Maharatna CPSE under the Ministry of Power, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), a Navratna CPSE under the Ministry of Railways, to finance up to Rs. 35,000 Crores for infrastructure projects to be executed by RVNL over the next five years .
Multi-modal logistics hub projects
These projects include multi-modal logistics hub projects, which are aimed at creating integrated transport facilities for seamless movement of goods and passengers across different modes of transport such as rail, road, air and water. Some of the proposed locations for these hubs are Nagpur, Ludhiana, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
Rail infrastructure projects
The projects also comprise rail infrastructure projects, which involve construction of new lines, doubling of existing lines, gauge conversion, electrification, signalling and telecommunication, station development and other allied works. RVNL caters to about 30% of infrastructure requirements of Indian Railways and has also pioneered implementation of large infrastructure projects under PPP model.
Road, port and metro projects
Additionally, the projects cover road, port and metro projects where RVNL has forayed into. These include construction of highways, expressways, bridges, tunnels, flyovers, interchanges and other road-related works; development of ports, terminals, jetties, berths and other port-related works; and execution of metro rail projects in various cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Kochi .
Benefits of the MoU
The MoU is expected to boost the infrastructure sector in India by providing long-term loans and other finance products for power and non-power infrastructure projects. REC Limited provides finance for power-Infrastructure sector comprising generation, transmission, distribution, renewable energy and new technologies like electric vehicles, battery storage and green hydrogen. Recently, REC has diversified into the non-power infrastructure sector space . The MoU will also strengthen the partnership between REC and RVNL and facilitate faster implementation of the projects.