(DMICDC) to set up Smart Cities in between Delhi and Mumbai
The Narendra Modi government is emphasising on creating 100 smart cities in India and Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC) is hopeful that its demand of Rs 7,500 crore for three smart city projects will be approved by the infrastructure project friendly NaMo Government.
The DMIC Trust will meet on Wednesday and will discuss the demand for funds in the Budget. This is an extremely ambitious project which has plans of setting up of seven greenfield smart cities between Delhi and Mumbai. The finance ministry is worried about the slow implementation of the project and has questions over some of the agreements signed by the company.
The investment in the project is estimated at over $100 billion which will be funded by the Japanese government agencies. This marks an era of FDI in real estate and cheap financial support from the Japanese government for this project will strengthen bilateral ties between both the countries. The Centre and the states will chip in with equity and land for the project.
The equity will be used for the special purpose vehicle in Dholera in Gujarat, where a new city is planned, and a similar project in Shendra, 17 km from Aurangabad, in Maharashtra. In the interim Budget DMICDC had sought the Rs 7,500 crore funding however was turned down by the finance ministry. The finance ministry was not in favour of raising funds from the market when the projects are not ready. Also it would have costed 9% interest rate if the government would have borrowed from the market and the government was not ready to let that money sit idle till the completion of the project till the revenues could be earned from them.
Source- The Times of India (Bangalore Edition)
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