“The loan is important for us because it is the largest transport loan outside Europe for a decade, and our first sovereign loan to India,” an EIB spokesman told “The Hindu”.

The European Union, through the European Investment Bank (EIB), will lend India €450 million (approximately Rs. 3,300 crore) towards constructing a 23-km long Lucknow Metro rail line and a purchasing a fleet of new trains. The EIB is the EU’s official bank and the world’s largest international public bank, and its loan will cover half of the total project costs for the Lucknow Metro. The first tranche of €200 million will be signed on Wednesday, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Brussels, as part of the 13th India E.U. Summit. The remaining tranches will be disbursed over the course of the project. Lucknow’s Metro is expected to increase the public transport mode share from 10% to 27% in the city of 3 million.

“The loan is important for us because it is the largest transport loan outside Europe for a decade, and our first sovereign loan to India,” Richard Willis, a spokesperson for the EIB told The Hindu over the phone. The EIB has financed more than €1.3 billion worth of projects in India since 1993.

The EIB is also expected to announce the opening of its South Asia office in New Delhi during Mr. Modi’s visit on Wednesday. The office is expected to be operational by the end of the year.