The Delhi Airport Express link is the first privately developed and financed section of Delhi Metro and a significant step forward in the development of transport PPP in India. The project company, a joint venture of Reliance Infrastructure (part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group) and Spanish firm Construcciones Y Auxiliar De Ferrocarriles (CAF), is constructing the Delhi Airport Metro Express Line, connecting the city centre to the International Airport in New Delhi.

The 23km high-speed metro line connects New Delhi Railway Station and Indira Gandhi International Airport and extends up to Dwarka sub city. The line has both underground and elevated tracks. Under the risk sharing agreement model, the civil structures are the responsibility of the government represented by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, and rolling stock supply, installation and operation are the responsibility of the concessionaire. The concessionaire is required to manage the line under a BOT model for 30 years and has a revenue sharing agreement with the government.

Total project costs are $589 million (based on an exchange rate of Rs50 per $1), with a syndicate of nine banks and the IIFC providing debt financing of $412 million with a 17.25-year tenor and 3-year five-month grace period. The sponsors are providing equity of $177 million. Axis bank acted as sole lead arranger, financial adviser and joint bookrunner with IIFC. IIFC provided an offshore ECB facility of around $50 million as part of the structure. The domestic facilities carry a margin of 13.5% and the ECB facility is priced at 485bp over the 6-month coupon.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has projected that about 42,000 people a day will use the service which will be fully commissioned in time for the 2010 Commonwealth games in Delhi, early October. The scheduled commissioning date is 31 July.

The project is based on London's Heathrow Express and Hong Kong's Metro Airport Link and will connect the city centre with the airport in 20 minutes. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has decided to keep the train fare at a maximum of Rs150 and a further Rs30 to Dwarka, cheaper than the same journey by taxi.

With its state of the art design and use of latest technology, the project is a significant add-on to Delhi Metro. Further, the project is being implemented at a rapid pace and is likely to be commissioned by July 2010. It is introducing various new concepts in construction to be used in India for the first time, like a baggage handling system and platform screen doors.

Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Limited (DAMEPL)
Status: Financial close 24 March 2009
Description: $589 million financing of 23km stretch of Delhi Metro BOT
Sponsors: Reliance Infrastructure (95%) and Construcciones Y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (5%)
Lead arranger and financial adviser: Axis Bank
Sub-participants: India Infrastructure Finance Co (IIFC), Canara Bank, Allahabad Bank, Central Bank of India, Dena Bank, Andhra Bank, UCO Bank, Bank of India and Punjab & Sind Bank
Lenders' legal counsel: India Law Services
Lenders' engineer: Louis Berger
Consultants: Systra MVA Consulting / MVA Asia and Cushman & Wakefield
EPC contractor: MTR Corp