Telangana looks to GIFT City to fund Hyderabad Metro buyout after IRFC setback
The Telangana government is exploring funding options through Gujarat’s GIFT City to acquire the Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase I after a loan from the Indian Railway Finance Corporation was rejected. The state is seeking alternative financing to resolve a deadlock over the project's expansion.
Why it matters
This highlights the complexities of infrastructure financing and the role of specialized financial hubs in state-level development projects.
The Telangana government, which has engaged SBI Capital Markets (SBI Caps) to secure a soft loan of around ₹13,500 crore for acquiring the 69.2-km Phase I of Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) from L&T, is reportedly exploring funding options through Gujarat’s GIFT City.
Senior officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said SBI Caps has been asked to quickly identify an alternative funding partner after the proposed loan of ₹13,527 crore from the Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) was halted at the last minute in May. The move reportedly followed intervention from the Ministry of Railways, which maintained that IRFC’s mandate is limited to financing new projects and not the refinancing of existing assets.
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