New Delhi: The USD 2 billion World Bank loan
the government is seeking for road development will reduce the
total borrowing needs of the National Highways Authority by 20
per cent to Rs 1,53,421 crore over the next 21 years.
"If we get the USD 2-billion loan from World Bank, the
total money that National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)
will have to borrow until 2030-31 will come down to only Rs
1,53,421 crore," a Transport Ministry official told agency.
The Ministry is seeking the loan at a lower interest rate
of 6.5 per cent with a longer repayment tenure of 25 years, he
said.
Road Transport and Highways Minister Kamal Nath had said
earlier this month after a meeting of an Empowered Group of
Ministers that the government wanted to borrow USD 2 billion.
The official said the longer tenure would prevent the
government from borrowing every few years to repay this loan
and the lower interest rate will also result in lesser fund
outgo towards repayment, cutting down the overall borrowing
needs of the Authority.
The World Bank lends to the government at prevailing
market rates, which currently stands at 9-9.5 per cent, with a
usual repayment tenure of around 10-12 years.
A report by the B K Chaturvedi Committee, constituted in
August this year to address issues plaguing road development,
has pegged the total borrowing requirement of the NHAI till
2030-31 at a cumulative Rs 1,91,948 crore.
Nath had said the loan would be in addition to USD 2.96
billion the World Bank has already approved 'in principle' to
the government for road development.
"This loan (USD 2.96 billion) is in advanced stages of
getting sanctioned," Nath had said after meeting World Bank
Chief Robert Zoellick who had visited India in December first
week.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, December 23, 2009, 13:06