The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Tuesday, signed a Facility Agreement for a loan of $250 million through the Bank’s non-sovereign lending window. It marks the multilateral lending agency’s first foray into the mass rapid public transport sector in South Asia.
“The loan represents a number of firsts for ADB in its partnership with India. This is the first loan to the urban transport sector without recourse to sovereign guarantees,” said Hun Kim, Country Director for India, who signed the agreement on behalf of ADB. “Being the first metro rail project financed by ADB, this also reiterates its keen interest in supporting environmental improvement and decongestion in the fast growing Indian cities with safe, effective and affordable public transport systems,” he said.
BMRCL Managing Director, N Sivasailam, signed the agreement on behalf of the Corporation. ADB’s support to BMRCL lends additional credibility to the project, especially in the financing model, which has been jointly developed, he said and added the project was vital for providing connectivity within Bangalore.
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