Chenani-Nashri Tunnel: IL&FS Group finally sold its subsidiary company Chenani Nashari Tunnelway Limited (CNTL). It was bought by Cube Highways & Infrastructure II Pte Ltd for Rs 6,145 crore. The money received from this deal will be used to repay the loan taken from banks.
The company has loans from State Bank of India, Canara Bank, Deutsche Bank, Indian Bank, Jammu & Kashmir Bank and UCO Bank, hence out of the deal proceeds, Rs 5,454 crore will go to repay the loan. With this deal, lenders will get recovery ranging from 98 percent to 124 percent depending on the exposure and seniority. The settlement is expected to be completed in the coming days.
Target to repay loan of Rs 61,000 crore
IL&FS said that after repaying Rs 5,454 crore, it will be left with a total debt of more than Rs 48,000 crore, whereas in March 2025 it was said to be more than Rs 45,000 crore. The target to repay the total debt of IL&FS remains Rs 61,000 crore. IL&FS had to obtain several approvals to sell Chenani Nashri Tunnelway Limited. These included the Committee of Creditors, Justice (Retd) DK Jain, National Company Law Tribunal, National Highways Authority of India and the concerned company boards.
What does the company do?
CNTL operates the Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Road Tunnel (Chenani-Nashri Tunnel), which is the longest operational road tunnel in India. The project provides all-weather connectivity between Jammu and Srinagar under an annuity-based concession with the National Highway Authority of India, which will run till March 2032.
Some special things about Chenani Nashri Tunnelway
- With this tunnel built at Rs 3,720 crore, the distance between Jammu and Srinagar has reduced from 41 km to 9.2 km.
- 1,500 engineers, geologists, skilled workers and laborers worked together to build this project.
- To make the tunnel look attractive, 6,000 LED multiple color lights have been used in it.
- There is a CCTV installed every 75 meters in the tunnel.
- With a speed limit of 50km/hr, it takes 12-15 minutes to complete the tunnel.
- It has two tubes and 29 cross-passages, including a special lane for emergency situations.
- Air quality monitors every 12 meters keep an eye on carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.
- Traffic is monitored round the clock through Automated Integrated Traffic Control System.
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