By Archana Jyoti dailypioneer.com
Having burnt its fingers in the country’s first PPP transport mode — the Delhi Airport Metro Express — which halted its operations recently amid controversies, a cautious Urban Development Ministry has now shot down a Planning Commission’s proposal for a similar partnership for the ` 24,500-crore Mumbai Metro Line 3, which will connect the Colaba-Bandra-Seepz corridor.
Sources told The Pioneer that the Ministry has conveyed to the Plan panel that the Metro Line 3 project would be a joint venture between the State Government and the Centre and it did not favour any private equity even for funding the rolling stock.
Incidentally, the Ministry’s move also comes even as the other two Metro rail projects in Mumbai (Line 1 and Line 2 of 11 km and 31 km respectively) are on the PPP mode. The Line 3 project is all set to come before the Public Investment Board (PIB) for its approval. The Line 3 (33.5 km), with 32 stations, will be fully underground, running from Colaba (south Mumbai) to Bandra, where it will dovetail with Line 2. While construction work for Line 2 is yet to start, Line 1 is expected to kick off by the year-end with 85 per cent of the work already executed.
The Planning Commission was keen on exploring the option of private sector participation to raise around `1,700 crore for meeting the requirement of funds for rolling stock in Metro operations.
The Ministry has proposed a funding pattern for Line 3 in the ratio of 20:80 between the Centre and the State. Of the State equity, 45 per cent will be through loan from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). More info
