MAY 20249REC SECURES .3,200 CRORE LOAN TO FUND GREEN ENERGY PROJECTSINDIAN RAILWAYS ON TRACK TO COMPLETE 100 CARGO TERMINALSREC announced on Thursday that it has secured a green loan amounting to JPY 60.536 billion (ap-proximately 3,200 crore) to fund eligible clean energy projects. This green facility benefits from an 80 percent guarantee provided by the Italian export cred-it agency, SACE (Italy).This announcement comes after REC issued its first yen-denominated green bonds worth 61.1 billion yen in January under its $10-billion global medium-term notes program.Exploring the Japanese market for financing aligns with REC strategy, as interest rates in Japan are gener-ally lower compared to US-dollar-denominated loans. The company has set an ambitious target of achieving a green finance loan book of 3 lakh crore by 2029-30.In September 2023, REC revealed that it had en-gaged in discussions with renewable energy devel-opers, leading to the signing of memoranda of under-standing totaling approximately 2.86 lakh crore. This indicates a significant step towards achieving its green finance objectives. The Indian Railways is on track to surpass its goal of establishing 100 Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals (GCT) ahead of schedule. As per officials familiar with the progress, 60 terminals operating under the public-private partnership (PPP) model are already up and running, with the remaining 40 expected to be operational by the end of the current fiscal year.These terminals play a crucial role in handling bulk cargo for businesses interconnected with the Indian Rail-ways. They focus on non-passenger commercial activities such as freight transportation and are established under a new policy aimed at leveraging unused railway land for monetization.Once 100 terminals are operational, the target for Gati Shakti Terminals will be increased to 200, according to a senior official.The government had initially aimed to establish 100 Gati Shakti Terminals within a five-year period, as outlined in the Union Budget 2022-23.These initiatives align with efforts to promote the con-tainerization of domestic cargo, facilitating its transpor-tation by rail. An investment of 5,374 crore has already been allocated for the operational Gati Shakti cargo termi-nals.In response to inquiries about freight priorities for the Indian Railways, the official emphasized the importance of prioritizing heavy goods like coal and cement over light-er goods such as electronics and clothing. The focus is on increasing containerization for lighter goods to enhance operational efficiency and speed up handling processes. TOPSTORIES
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