GMRL seeks World Bank clearance for phase 2 metro project; 60% funding proposed

The GMRL authorities said that the proposal to construct a separate metro spur from Sector 5 to Old Gurugram, included in the tender for the second phase, is likely to be delayed.

Gurugram Metro Rail Limited (GMRL) on Monday said it has sent the tender document and loan proposal for the construction of phase two of the Gurugram metro to the World Bank for scrutiny and approval.

The second phase involves constructing a metro route from Sector 9 to DLF Cyber City. (HT representative photo)

The GMRL is seeking a loan from the World Bank, which would be 60% of the project cost, currently estimated at around ₹2,800 crore. In a related development, GMRL officials said that the proposal to develop a separate spur of the Gurugram metro towards Old Gurugram railway station will be taken up later, as the World Bank has recommended an assessment of the social and environmental impacts.

A senior GMRL official said that the metro corporation had submitted the tender document and the loan proposal to the World Bank last week, and that approval is expected by next month. “The metro corporation is seeking a loan which is 60% of the project cost, excluding the taxes. Right now, the amount is ₹2,800 crore, and it would increase if the project cost rises in the future. The tender document will be scrutinised in detail by the loan agency,” the official said.

The GMRL authorities said that the proposal to construct a separate metro spur from Sector 5 to Old Gurugram, included in the tender for the second phase, is likely to be delayed and will be taken up later.

It is to be noted that last year, GMRL had sought a loan of ₹1,613 crore from a European funding agency for the Old Gurugram Metro project. The matter was also placed before the Department of Economic Affairs under the Ministry of Finance, but due to the European funding agency’s lack of response, it was decided to seek the entire loan for the project from the World Bank.

A Metro official stated that a meeting of the Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation Limited (HMRTC) was held last November, at which it was decided that funding for the project would be obtained only from the World Bank or the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

The Old Gurugram Metro Project is 28.5 km long, and last September the GMRL floated a tender for the first phase of this project for approximately ₹1,277 crore. The first phase involves constructing a metro route from the Millennium City Centre metro station to Sector 9.

The second phase involves constructing a metro route from Sector 9 to DLF Cyber City. This construction is estimated to cost nearly ₹3,500 crore. The third phase involves the construction of a metro depot in Sector 33, which is estimated to cost over ₹400 crore.

In the second phase, stations will be built in Sector 7, Sector 4, Sector 5, Gurugram railway station, Ashok Vihar, Sector 3, Bajghera Road, Palam Vihar Extension, Palam Vihar, Sector 23A, and Sector 22.

Meanwhile, the GMRL has changed the metro route from Sector 22 to DLF Cyber City, altering the locations of three stations.