Telangana gets Rs 13,600 crore IRFC deal for Hyderabad Metro

The Telangana government has secured a refinancing agreement worth Rs 13,600 crore from the Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) for the Hyderabad Metro Rail project, in a move aimed at reducing the project’s debt burden and supporting future expansion. The agreement was signed in New Delhi on Monday by IRFC, LT Metro Rail Hyderabad Ltd, and Hyderabad Metro Rail Ltd (HMRL), with Telangana Chief Secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao in attendance.

The refinancing facility is structured as a 20-year loan with quarterly repayments, replacing higher-cost debt such as non-convertible debentures, commercial papers, and existing term loans with lower-cost, long-term rupee financing. The transaction is backed by a credit enhancement framework that includes an unconditional payment guarantee from the state government and a Reserve Bank of India-backed direct debit mandate. No processing fees, commitment charges, or prepayment penalties were attached to the facility.

The refinancing follows the state government’s recent acquisition of 100 percent ownership of LT Metro Rail Hyderabad Ltd through HMRL, converting the metro network from a public-private partnership into a fully state-owned...