New Delhi: The Indian Railways on Friday entered into an agreement with the state government of Jharkhand to form a joint venture (JV) company to speed up the development of railway infrastructure projects in the state.

According to the Railway Ministry, the agreement will provide active representation to the state government in planning and implementation of railway infrastructure projects.

Besides, the agreement envisages to take up those railway projects which are on the state government's priority list and generate more financial resources through participation of stakeholders.

The ministry elaborated that Jharkhand government has identified three projects -- Namkum-Kandra, Giridih-Parasnath-Madhuban, Tori-Chatra -- with a total length of 222 km at a cost of Rs 2,150 crore.

These projects are expected to be taken up through the proposed JV company after establishment of the projects' viability, bankability and financial closure, the ministry said.

The ministry added that the state government will have 51 per cent equity the JV company.-Agency