A 33.7-km railway corridor, connecting Jaigarh Port to the Digni station of Konkan Railway, is set to become a reality. JSW Jaigarh Port Ltd. signed a concession agreement with Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd. (KRCL) for developing the corridor on Sunday. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu were present.
The port operator had won the competitive bidding to develop the project under a public-private partnership model.
The special purpose vehicle executing the project has been named Jaigarh Digni Rail Ltd. The port operator holds a 63 per cent stake in the company, and the KRCL and the Maharashtra Maritime Board hold the rest.
The project, which will come up through the difficult terrain of the Sahyadris, requires an investment of Rs. 771 crore. The concession period is 30 years.
The rail link, to be executed in 30 months, will have eight tunnels spanning a total 18 km, and eight bridges. The corridor is expected to handle around 12 million tonnes of cargo a year.
The main purpose is to transport bulk commodities from the port to the Konkan Railway network and further to the hinterland.
The JSW Group has set up the Jaigarh port, a two-berth, all-weather deepwater port having a capacity of 15 million tonnes a year, with a Rs. 1,000-crore investment.
“We will use this model to connect all the minor ports in the country to the rail network,” Mr. Prabhu said.
“This project has been pending for more than seven years, and we thank both the Government of India and the Maharashtra government for making it possible,” Sajjan Jindal, chairman and managing director, JSW Group, said.
Earlier in the day, the Maharashtra government signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Railways to develop the rail network in the State jointly. Both the State and the Centre would contribute funds for projects. This model would be adopted in other States, Mr. Prabhu said.
The Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP) III was also launched on Sunday.
