Ghaziabad Metro extensions to get costlier as land price increases

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has revised the detailed project report (DPR) of the two proposed Metro extensions — Noida Sector 62 to Sahibabad and Vaishali to Mohan Nagar. The revised parameters concerning the land cost is set to increase the project cost.

The revised cost of the project is expected to increase by nearly Rs283 crore, officials said.

The two extensions were estimated to cost Rs3711 crore, as per the original land cost estimated by DMRC. Following the receipt of the DPR of the two extensions, the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) had written to the agency to estimate the cost of land on circle rates. The DMRC later sought the circle rates and has revised the DPR based on the new land cost.

“We have received the revised points of the DPR from DMRC. These include the land cost, which has been revised on circle rates sent by us. The land cost for the Vaishali to Mohan Nagar route has increased on the basis of circle rates while there is a decrease in the land cost for the Sector 62 to Sahibabad route,” VN Singh, chief engineer, GDA, said.

“Overall, the cost has increased due to land estimates based on circle rates. The land is required for construction of stations as well as the corridor. This will also increase the cost of the project as such. We will hold discussions and the DMRC will now send us a revised DPR, incorporating the replies. The final DPR will soon be sent to the state government,” Singh said.

As per the original DPR, the land cost for the Vaishali to Mohan Nagar route was estimated at Rs115.77 crore, while the revised cost, based on circle rates, is now Rs448.15 crore. Further, the original cost for the Sector 62 to Sahibabad route was estimated originally at Rs178.09 crore, while the revised estimate is Rs125.58 crore.

For the Vaishali to Mohan Nagar Metro link, 1.316 hectares are required for construction of stations while 6.597 hectares are required for building the Metro network. The total land requirement for the extension is 7.913 hectare.

For the Sector 62 to Sahibabad link, 0.43 hectare is required for the construction of stations while 1.438 hectares are required for building the network. The total land requirement is pegged at 1.868 hectares, as per the revised estimate.

“There is no change in the land requirement as such and a majority of the land identified for the project is government land. If a need for private land arises, we will procure it during the construction stage,” Singh said.

Officials said they will soon hold a meeting to discuss the revised estimates sent by DMRC. According to the report, the estimated time for completion of the Metro extensions is three years.