Japan to give Rs.5,500 crore loan for Metro Rail projects

New Delhi, Nov 29 : Japan will give development assistance loans worth Rs.5,479 crore for the Chennai and Ahmedabad Metro projects, an official statement said on Sunday. "The latest initiative is the agreement signed between the governments of India and Japan for an official development assistance loan of an amount of JPY 19.981 billion (around Rs.1,069 crore) for the Chennai Metro Rail Project (IV) and JPY 82.434 billion (around Rs.4,410 crore) for the Ahmedabad Metro Project," the India's finance ministry said in a statement here. Noting India attaches highest importance to infrastructure projects, it said: "Within urban infrastructure, provision of metro rail gains more importance because of its environment friendly nature. It reduces the traffic congestion in the cities where the traffic is over flowing and also reduces greenhouse gas emission." India is continuously making efforts to obtain bilateral and multilateral funding to meet this financial requirement, it added.