Maharashtra cabinet directed the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to seek a One Time Settlement (OTS) of the debt owed by Mumbai Metro One Pvt. Ltd. (MMOPL) with the lenders. The order was issued post a meeting held in Mumbai on June 26.
MMOPL had signed a debt settlement agreement with the lenders in March 2024. As part of the agreement, it committed a payment of Rs 1,700 crore as a one time settlement of its entire debt. MMRDA and MMOPL paid Rs 171 crore to the lenders as upfront payment.
Anil Ambani's Reliance Infrastructure and MMRDA own 74 per cent and 26 per cent stake in Mumbai Metro, respectively, which is a joint venture of the two firms. The latter is expected to hold a meeting with six lenders soon to discuss the settlement. The list of lenders includes State Bank of India, IDBI Bank, Canara Bank, Indian Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, and IIFCL (UK).
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Sources indicated that MMRDA has been asked to take immediate action to implement the decision of Maharashtra cabinet. Notably, the cabinet had passed a resolution four months ago whereby MMRDA was supposed to acquire the entire stake of Reliance Infra in Mumbai project for Rs 4,000 crore. However, the firm backed down, citing lack of funds for the acquisition.
Following this, the state cabinet cancelled the acquisition and instead asked MMRDA to seek a one time settlement. According to sources, MMOPL has regularly paid interest worth over Rs 225 crore to the lenders between April 2023 to June 2024.
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