NEW DELHI: Delhi Metro Rail Corporation ( DMRC ) has sought an assistance of Rs 200 crore from the Centre to meet the running cost of Airport Metro Express line till 2021-22. It has submitted to the urban development ministry that the corridor is making operational loss and the cash shortfall will continue for 7-8 years.

Sources said DMRC, which has taken over the project from a subsidiary of Reliance Infra, could expect operational profit of about Rs 5 crore from the line only from 2022-23.

These proposals form part of DMRC's response to the UD ministry on the options to deal with the financial longjam of the Metro line as the former private operator has sought termination payment so that it can pay back to its lenders.

It has submitted two options to pay the contract termination amount, which is around Rs 1,820 crore. In the first case, it has suggested that the Centre and Delhi government can pay the amount to the former operator. The second option is to take soft loan and raise fund from market. But DMRC wants government to pay the entire amount in yearly installments.The UD ministry is waiting for response from Delhi government.

