Delhi Metro phase IV gathers speed

Good news for Delhiites! The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has begun taking baby steps towards kicking off work on Phase IV of the Delhi Metro Rail project, even as the proposal awaits the final nod from the central government.

Having gotten the state cabinet’s approval in December last year, the DMRC on January 4 invited e-tenders from eligible agencies to participate in bidding for engagement as detailed design consultants for civil works under Delhi MRTS Phase IV projects. In order to save time, the public-sector enterprise is also on the lookout for architectural firms to finalise designs of six stations and carry out geographical surveys for the project already been delayed by two years.

“It may take up to four months to finalise the tenders and we expect to begin construction on the corridors by mid-2019, provided we get the remaining approvals,” said a DMRC official. While major lines under Phase III are nearing completion, with smaller links such as Mayur Vihar to Trilokpur — a one-kilometre stretch — set to be complete by mid-2019, the official said that DMRC will not wait for Phase-III to be completed to start work on Phase-IV corridors.

However, finance for Phase IV still remains in question with the project turning into a bone of contention between the Aam Aadmi Party’s state government and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre. The estimated cost has been changed twice so far and is currently pegged at around Rs 46,800 crore, out of which the state government’s share will be around Rs 9,707 crore.

But no funds have been approved for the project so far since the Centre is still examining the proposal, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri informed the Rajya Sabha last week. The Delhi government is demanding that any operating loss be shared between the Centre and the state on a 50-50 per cent basis.

Phase IV, comprising six corridors and measuring 104 kilometres, is set to take the metro to previously unconnected areas like Bawana and Narela and enhance connectivity to the international airport. Of the six corridors, three will be elevated, and the rest will have both elevated as well as underground stations. Elevated corridors are planned along the 21.73 km Rithala-Bawana-Narela, 28.92 km Janakpuri West-RK Puram, and 12.54 km Mukundpur- Maujpur stretches.

The project, said to be the most expensive phase of the Delhi Metro, is expected to be commissioned on January 1, 2025. With a total planned length of approximately 453.58 kilometre after completion, the Delhi Metro will become the third largest metro network in the world after Shanghai (644 km) and Beijing (599.44 km). Currently, Delhi Metro is the eight largest metro train network in the world.