Urban Development Department Minister Eknath Shinde has said, in a written response to the Legislative Council, that the Mumbai-Pune hyperloop project is under scrutiny for feasibility. The statement comes in the wake of his Cabinet colleague Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar haveing expressed scepticism about the project in the past.
The previous Bharatiya Janata Party-led government announced the hyperloop to reduce travel time between the two cities. However, Mr. Pawar had said in January, “The State does not have the bandwidth to experiment with a project like the hyperloop and will focus on development and strengthening of other transport projects. When the hyperloop is successful in another country, we can do it too.”
But Mr. Shinde’s written reply to Congress legislator Sharad Ranpise that was tabled in the Legislative Council on Wednesday reads, “The Maharashtra infrastructure development enabling authority is examining the the financial cost, land acquisition and risk assessment and planning for the project.”
Asked if a meeting between the Chief Minister and British industrialist Richard Branson of the Virgin Group was organised on December 12, 2019 to discuss the project, Mr. Shinde said in his reply, “Yes this meeting was organised, and it reviewed the work to be done for the Pune-Mumbai hyperloop.”
The Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority will be in charge of the project, which will be implemented through a public private partnership, Mr. Shinde said.