Mumbai Metro Project waiting for land allotment

Mumbai, Sep 10 (UNI) The Mumbai Metro One Private Limited (MMOPL), a special purpose vehicle created to execute the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar (VAG) corridor, is working round the clock on the maiden metro project of the city.

Though granted five years time beginning May 2007 by the government under the concession agreement to complete the project, MMOPL aims to finish this much ahead of the scheduled deadline.

Having completed most of the background work for the project, MMOPL is still awaiting allotment of land for the depot at D N Nagar and casting yards at Wadala and a clear Right Of Way (ROW) from the government, which was promised to be given within six months, according to sources.

With the various investigations, studies and surveys for the VAG corridor already completed in the first half of this year, the last three months (June-August) saw the preparation and issuing of tender documents for the major supplies and contracts to the short-listed companies. These comprised tenders documents for civil works, rolling stock, signaling, communication, power supply, E&M, AFC and track work, according to sources.

While tenders for civil work and rolling stock have been submitted by the short-listed bidders, tenders for the remaining contracts are expected in about a month's time.

The MMOPL, the first public-private-partnership (PPP) initiative for a MRTS (Mass Rapid Transit System) project in India, is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) created to implement the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar (VAG) Metro corridor in Mumbai. It is a joint venture company formed by Reliance Energy Limited, Veolia Transport of France, and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

UNI