Empowered committee gives approval to Metro’s phase 3

The Delhi Metro is all set to further spread its network in the Capital and beyond. The empowered committee for mass rapid transport system headed by the cabinet secretary, on Tuesday, approved the 103km-long phase 3 of the Metro.

The Delhi Metro is all set to further spread its network in the Capital and beyond. The empowered committee for mass rapid transport system headed by the cabinet secretary, on Tuesday, approved the 103km-long phase 3 of the Metro.

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The project would cost R35,000 crore and connect remote areas of east, north and north-west Delhi to south and central Delhi.

The targeted date of completion has been fixed at March 2016. With this, the total metro network in the NCR would go up to 300km.

Besides, the committee also approved the 13.87km elevated Metro line connecting Badarpur in south Delhi to Faridabad in Haryana for R2,533 crore. The targeted date of completion of this project is March 2013.

With the empowered committee clearing the project, it is just a matter of time before Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the implementing agency, starts work on the ground. The proposal would very soon come up before the group of ministers headed by Pranab Mukherjee and from there it will go to the Union cabinet for the final nod.

Sources said that with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) — which bore 60% and 49% of the total project cost in Metro phase 1 and 2 respectively — not willing to fund more than 40% of the project cost following the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan last month, the funding pattern for phase 3 has been altered a bit.

Not only has the Centre decided to fund the project beyond the JICA loan, it will also provide sovereign guarantee for market borrowing for the project. Besides, the share of Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in the funding has also been increased.

While the Centre and Delhi government will bear R12,597 crore of the total project cost, DDA would give R1,500 crore. DMRC will raise another R1,586 crore by developing property in the vicinity of Metro stations and the remaining cost will be met by soft loans provided by JICA and India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited.

Phase 3 will have four corridors — connecting Mukundpur in north Delhi to Yamuna Vihar in east Delhi; Janakpuri in west Delhi to Kalindi Kunj in south Delhi, Central Secretariat to Jahangirpuri in north-west Delhi to Badli.

While one of the corridor would run parallel to Ring Road and connect east Delhi with south and west Delhi, the other would run parallel to outer Ring Road and would connect Noida with south and west Delhi.