Railways plans to monetise assets of DFC

NEW DELHI: The railways has decided to include the flagship dedicated freight corridor project in its asset-monetisation programme, along with railway stations and trains, looking to attract big investors.A high-level committee has been tasked to come up with a plan that will include corporatisation of railway production units and deploying the hybrid annuity model used successfully in highway construction. The empowered group of secretaries will also examine asset monetisation and innovative financing methods for railway projects, a government official told ET.Mobilising Funds for Rail InfraThe group has been constituted for the development of 50 railway stations to world-class standards and getting private companies to operate 150 trains.77057659The panel headed by the Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant will look at ways to monetise the assets of the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd (DFCCIL) to mobilise additional resources for the development of railway infrastructure and operationalisation of the Rail Development Authority.DFCCIL is a wholly owned company under the railways tasked to construct a dedicated freight corridor along the Golden Quadrilateral and the two diagonals. The eastern and the western corridors are at an advanced stage, with some sections already ready. These two corridors will be fully complete by the end of 2021. The total project cost is about ₹80,000 crore. Given the project is already under a corporate structure, it may be easier to monetise, said the person.The panel was set up by the railways ministry to draw up the contours of private train operations and station re-development. It will approve the bidding process and bid documents for request for qualification or proposals and concession agreements besides monitoring of the bidding process and award of projects in a time-bound manner.The terms of reference of the panel have now been expanded to look at these aspects, the official said. It will also look into operationalisation of the Rail Development Authority, a kind of regulator for the sector that will look at pricing and service quality among other matters.The panel includes the Railway Board chairman, the economic affairs secretary and the housing and urban development secretary as members.The move comes close on the heels of the Indian Railways’ big-bang announcement to allow private operators in passenger train operations from 2023, entailing an investment of ₹30,000 crore. Indian Railways has already issued a request for qualification for all 12 clusters that includes 109 routes. A stringent plan with timelines has been drawn up for both private trains as well as redevelopment of railway stations, the official added.

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