PM inaugurates Mumbai Metro

Mumbai: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone for Phase I of the Mumbai Metro project linking Versova in the west to Ghatkopar in the east on Wednesday.

Among those present at the ceremony were Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilas Rao Deshmukh, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and industrialist Anil Ambani.

The first phase will be 11 kms long and aims to change the travel pattern of the city drastically. It will run on elevated tracks and through underground tunnels link Mumbai city to the suburbs.

Many commuters in the city believe the metro rail is the only answer to their commuting woes.

The consortium led by Reliance Energy (REL) and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has bagged the contract for the first phase for Rs 2,356 crore.

The project will run on a BOOT or Build-Own-Operate-Transfer basis and work on the first corridor, Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar route, is expected to go on full swing by October.

“There is no problem of funding for the first phase. We have also asked the Central Government to help us in the viability gap funding of Rs 650 crore,” Maharashtra Chief Minister, Vilas Rao Deshmukh said.

Track Record

* 11 km of elevated rail track

* 12 stations

* Travel time cut by 75 per cent

* The distance will be covered in 22 minutes as compared to an hour and a half by road

* Airconditioned coaches will carry more than 8.5 lakh passengers in a day

Tickets will cost between Rs 6-10 rupees

The government's share in this mega project will work out to Rs 134 crore in equity and a viability gap of Rs 650 crore.

“Being a private company they were calculating higher rate of returns and so they were asking for Rs 1,250 crore but we have negotiated with them for only Rs 650 crore linked to progress of the work and they agreed to it,” MMRDA Chief, T Chandrashekhar said.

The first phase will also include the north-south corridor from Colaba to Charkop as well as another one from Bandra to Mankhurd in the east.

The final metro map of Mumbai will cover routes over 146 kilometers and cost close to Rs 20,000 crore.

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