97/25 Swedish Contribution to the Konkan Railway Construction Project in India

Description:
The Konkan Railway Construction Project was to build and operate a railroad stretching 837 kilometers with 2000 bridges and 84 kilometers of tunnels, from south of Bombay to Mangalore along the coastal area known as Konkan. The project started in 1991 and is the biggest railway undertaking during this century in Asia and one of the largest ever in the world. Completed, the project was to substantially cut travel time and to promote economic development of Konkan, a relatively neglected region. Sweden as the only foreign contributor and through a concessionary Sida credit of SEK 45 million, financed nine hydraulic drilling machines and seven electro hydraulic loaders for the tunnel excavations.
Visits were made by the evaluator at the Konkan project headquarters in Bombay and to construction sites along the line. Project data were organized in a logical framework (LFA) schedule. Results were assessed against planned targets at the different levels of the goal hierarchy.