Summary:
GHAZIABAD: The GDA is planning to raise funds for its new and ongoing projects through bonds and will soon hire an agency for the purpose.“I have been asked by the GDA vice-chairperson to look for an agency which will help the agency raise bonds. For the Hindon Elevated Road, we had sought loan of Rs 700 crore from NCR Planning Board, of which we have been given Rs 420 crore,” said Singh.“It is believed that raising funds through bonds is economically viable as compared to loans” he added. This was necessitated to deal with the financial crunch we are facing to implement many of our projects, including the phase 3 metro,” said Subedar Singh finance controller at the GDA.“To start with, we will get the GDA’s credit rating done by a Sebi-approved agency. We will have to score A or A+ to qualify the eligibility criteria,” he added.Bonds are floated by agencies that seek participation from the public to raise funds.“We receive money from them, say for a period of 10 years, and pay them back along with an interest that is mutually agreed upon,” Singh said.Among the projects that the GDA plans to implement are the phase 3 metro (Rs 3,990 crore), Ghanta Ghar-Bhatia Mor elevated road (Rs 250 crore) and Vasundhara and Raj Nagar Extension flyovers (Rs 120 crore).Earlier, the GDA had taken loans from banks and other financial agencies to fund several of its projects, which apparently required it to pay a higher interest rate.“For Maduban-Bapudham, we are in the final stage of getting loan of Rs 800 crore from Allahabad Bank ..