NEW DELHI: A three-year moratorium has been granted to Cochin Port Authority for repayment of loans amounting to Rs 446.83 crore to the central government.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved a moratorium of three years (2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23) to Cochin Port Authority (CoPA) towards repayment of the balance outstanding Government of India (GoI) loans amounting to Rs 446.83 crore to tide over the financial crisis due to Covid-19 pandemic, according to an official statement released after Union Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
The amount was to be repaid in 10 instalments commencing from 2018-19. However, Cochin Port Authority could pay the instalments of 2018-19 and 2019-20. From the financial year 2020-21, traffic was badly impacted due to the pandemic. This adversely impacted the cash inflow of the Authority. As a result, Cochin Port could not pay the instalments of 2020-21 and 2021-22.
Cochin Port has been brought under the Major Port Authorities Act, 2021, with effect from November 2021. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), on August 24, 2016, had approved the proposal for waiver of penal interest on Government of India loans taken by Cochin Port for various infrastructural developmental activities during 1936-37 to 1994-95. (ANI)