PMRDA to start work on 3rd Metro line by October

Final Bidder For Project Announced After Four-Month Wait

Pune:

The work on the elevated Hinjewadi-Shivajinagar Metro corridor will begin by October.

The project’s executing authority, the Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (PMRDA), has announced the final bidder for the proposed project after a four-month wait — Tata Reality Infra Pvt Ltd (TRIL) and Siemens Project Ventures Joint Venture (JV).

The project, set to cost Rs8,313 crore, is aimed at addressing the traffic woes faced by the nearly 2 lakh IT professionals who work at the Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park in Hinjewadi.

This will also be the first project in the country implemented under the Metro policy of 2017, which aims to lessen the financial burden on the Centre.

“The Tata-Siemens JV company was shortlisted from a list of three. The company has executed Metro projects in the country and should not find (this project) difficult,’’ said PMRDA commissioner Kiran Gitte.

Gitte admitted they found it tough to find bidders under the new policy. The central government has allocated Rs1,200 crore, while the state will provide Rs800 crore in the form of land banks. The remaining has to be generated by the bidder by monetizing the land banks. Just as with the Public-Private Partnership (model), the Centre and the state will account for 20% each of the project cost.

“Now, the bid proposal will be tabled before the PMRDA general body before it is submitted to the state finance department. Once that is cleared, it will be submitted to the central government’s Empowered Committee to receive the 20 per cent VGF grant. The bidder will sign a contract with the Centre to execute the project on a Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer model,” Gitte added.

He further said that this will be the first such project in India. The other Metros — Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Delhi — run on the PPP basis.

The state government has already provided 50 hectares for the car shed, 5.6 hectares in Balewadi for the land bank. It plans to allocate additional land banks to help fund the project.

Guardian minister Bapat said this project will go a long way in making life easier for commuters from the IT sector, ease traffic in Hinjewadi and also create jobs. “We are also planning parking bays at the stations, enabling commuters to park their vehicles before taking the Metro,” Bapat added.

He assured to make sure the project is executed at the earliest and that all necessary clearances are given. “Once the bid approval and concession agreement process is completed, the work will immediately commence,” Bapat said.