Tenders for Metro 5, 6 in a month: MMRDA

Work on 3 Metro corridors
is going on at present. File

As the state cabinet approved the construction of two more Metro lines — Metro 5 and Metro 6 — on Tuesday, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has already begun preparations to start work on them. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) for both the lines are complete and various clearances obtained for the project.

“All the clearances for both the projects are in place and we are ready to begin work. We should float the tender for the lines in a month and once the contractors are appointed construction can begin by March next year,” said Pravin Darade, Additional Metropolitan Commissioner, MMRDA.

The corridors received CRZ clearance from the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) in June this year. The Metro 5 passes through 3.9 km of CRZ areas at two locations — along Kasheli bridge as it crosses the Ulhas river and near Durgadi Fort — and is also likely to affect mangroves. Similarly, 1.1 km of Metro 6 passes through CRZ areas near Nehru Nagar at the point where the JVLR meets the Eastern Express Highway. Also one hectare of the 15.02 hectares of the car depot in Kanjurmarg will be in CRZ II.

While the 24-km Metro 5 is estimated to cost Rs 8,416 crore, the projected cost for the 14.5-km Metro 6 is Rs 6,672 crore. The MMRDA plans to self-fund the civil cost for the corridors and seek external funding for the rolling stock and systems. “The civil costs for the two lines will be borne by MMRDA itself. We will try to raise the funds for rolling stock and systems through bonds or LIC or any multilateral agency. However, only 80 per cent of that cost will come through loans and the remaining 20 per cent will also be put in by MMRDA,” added Darade.

According to the DPR prepared by the consortium of D’Appolonia and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the Metro 5 will connect Thane, Bhiwandi and Kalyan and will have 17 stations along the route. It will have interchanges with Line 4 and Kalyan suburban station and, in the future, MMRDA proposes to extend the line to Taloja.

To be implemented by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the Swami Samarth Nagar-Jogeshwari-Kanjurmarg-Vikhroli Metro 6 corridor will have 13 stations. It will have interchanges with Metro 3 at SEEPZ, Metro 7 at JVLR, Metro 4 at Kanjurmarg and Metro 2A on the Link Road apart from connectivity with suburban railway stations at Jogeshwari and Kanjurmarg.

“Mumbai does not have a very good east-west connectivity and Line 6 will provide it. Currently, only Metro One provides that form of connectivity and it sees a daily ridership of more than 3 lakh passengers, for Line 6 we are expecting it to be more than 7 lakh by 2031. Similarly, Bhiwandi area is not well-connected by public transport. But now some growth centres are coming up there and with Line 5 people there will have a comfortable ride. It will cut down their two-hour journey to just 30-40 minutes,” said a senior MMRDA official.

Systems on both the proposed corridors will be designed for six-coach trains with the expected daily ridership for Metro 5 pegged at 2.29 lakh in 2021 and for Metro 6 at 6.5 lakh. Currently, the city is witnessing the construction of three Metro corridors — Metro 2A and 7 by MMRDA and Metro 3 by Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC). Work on two more corridors, Metro 2B and 4, are expected to begin by the end of this year.