Kochi: Representatives of French funding agency, Agence Francaise de Development (AFD) will visit the city on January 9, ahead of signing the agreement to fund the Kochi Metro Rail project. During the visit, AFD officials will hold a final round of discussions with the authorities of Kochi Metro Rail Limited on the modalities of the agreement.
In November last, the AFD director board had approved a loan worth Rs 1,500 cr for the Metro Rail at an interest rate of 1.9 per cent.
The French agency will sign a memorandum of understanding with the Centre by the end of this month. The Union Government will provide the loan amount to KMRL as budget allocation.
The French team had been to Kochi several times. They had reviewed the progress of the project and held several rounds of discussions with KMRL authorities.
The total project cost of the Metro Rail has been pegged at Rs 5,537 cr and the KMRL is looking for an external borrowing of Rs 2,170 cr for it.
