New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS): One of the few metros in the world to make an operational profit, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has paid an amount of over Rs. 567 crore back to a Japanese agency, which sanctioned it a loan for its projects.

According to a DMRC spokesperson Saturday, the amount of 567.63 crore paid to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) included the loan for Phase I, besides the interest amount for Phase I and II of the metro projects.

JICA, earlier known as Japan Bank for International Cooperation, had sanctioned a loan of Rs. 6,434.06 crore for the Delhi Metro's phase I project on an annual interest of 1.3-2.3 percent.

"The loan was received by DMRC in a total of 6 tranches. Phase I comprised of 65 km and was completed in 2002 with a total completion cost of Rs.10,571 crore, out of which 60 percent was financed by JICA," the spokesperson said.

The total cost for Phase II is approximately Rs.20,000 crore and JICA is financing 49.19 percent of it. For DMRC's Phase II, the Japanese company has sanctioned a loan of Rs.9,686.69 crore -- to be paid in 5 tranches on an annual interest of 1.2-1.4 percent.

"So far, four tranches have been paid to DMRC. Phase II comprising 124.61 km will be completed by September ahead of the Commonwealth Games," he added.

The Delhi metro said that the Japanese company has altogether collected an amount of over Rs.16,000 crore to DMRC for both Phase I and Phase II projects.

The loan payback period for both Phase I and II is 30 years with a moratorium of 10 years. This way, the DMRC can pay back the loan for Phase I by 2035 and for Phase II by 2040.

The spokesperson said that after completion of the two phases, Delhi will have a total network of over 190 kms covering Delhi and NCR regions.

Phase-II is also crucial om the point of view of the Commonwealth Games because the Metro link will be connecting 10 out of a total of 11 Commonwealth Games venues.