Work on long awaited ₹5,500 crore Gurugram Metro project starts

Haryana CM and Union Minister launched the Gurugram Metro project, a 28.5km corridor costing ₹5,500 crore, improving connectivity and reducing congestion.

The foundation stone of the long awaited Gurugram Metro project was laid on Friday by Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini and Union housing and urban development minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday near the terminating pillars of the Delhi Metro.

Union minister Manohar Lal, and Haryana chief minister, Nayab Singh Saini, performing the rituals during the Bhoomi Poojan on Friday. (Parveen Kumar/HT)

The Bhoomi poojan (ground breaking ceremony) of the first phase of the project was held in Sector 44 parking lot of Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) by both the leaders in presence of senior Haryana government officials, Gurugram Rail Metro Limited (GMRL) officials, and executives from the project contractors and design consultants, apart from the general public.

The 28.5km-long metro corridor from Millennium City Center to Cyber City up to Dwarka Expressway, costing about ₹5,500 crore will include 27 stations connecting new and old Gurugram.

Later addressing a gathering at an event organised by GMRL at Gurugram university auditorium in Sector 51, Khattar said that metro service in the city will improve connectivity across NCR and reduce congestion and pollution. “The metro network across the country has improved significantly after BJP came to power and the metro project in Gurugram will save time and energy, while it will also provide a better mode of transport to people,” he said.

Khattar also said that the Union urban ministry will be providing 10,000 buses across the country at concessional rates, and out of that Gurugram will get 100 buses. He also announced that an application based transport service will be launched in Delhi and NCR which will provide last mile connectivity to metro users.

Khattar said that large-scale development has been carried out in Gurugram after 2014 with a slew of underpasses and flyovers being constructed on NH 48. “The Sohna elevated road, Dwarka expressway and the underpass at Ambience Mall was constructed by BJP governments,” he said.

He also said that the proposed RRTS project, which will connect Delhi, Gurugram and Shahjahanpur in Rajasthan will be getting approval from union cabinet soon. “This RRTS project will soon get approval from the union cabinet. One of its spur will be extended to Faridabad and to Zevar airport,” he added.

The work in the first phase of the metro project includes construction of 15.22 km of the metro rail viaduct, 15 stations, a 1.85km spur to Dwarka Expressway, and a ramp to the proposed depot in Sector 33.

Chief minister Nayab Singh Saini while addressing the gathering said that apart from Gurugram Metro extension, the government was also working on other projects to extend the metro network from Rezangla Chowk to Dwarka Sector 21, Sector 56 to Pachgaon, as well as RRTS Metro corridors between Delhi–Karnal, Delhi–Neemrana, and Gurugram–Noida via Faridabad.

D Thara, chairperson, GMRL and additional secretary, ministry of housing and urban development ministry said that for next three to four years, Gurugram will have to go through pain but it will result in producing a dream project in the form of Gurugram metro. “We are working hard to ensure that state of art metro network is laid in the city, and it is aligned with local environment and economy, “ she said.