The Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro-3 underground corridor will get another boost with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) set to release five per cent of the total Rs 18,114.9 crore required for the commencement of civil work that includes design and construction of underground stations and tunnels for the project.
The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC), the implementing agency of the project, last week finalised civil contractors for the construction in seven packages for 27 underground stations between the Cuffe Parade station in south and Seepz station in the north with around 27 underground metro stations.
“We have got an approval from the JICA that will release five per cent of the total civil construction that could be around Rs 450 to 500 crore. Further, with the commencement of the project it will release more loan amount in parts,” said a senior MMRC official.
The total cost of the project is Rs 23,136 crore, of which the JICA will be funding 57 per cent. However, the cost could increase further with additional delays in the project.
“JICA has informally conveyed to us that granting more loan amount would not be an issue, and in case of cost escalation JICA is ready to fund 5 to 8 per cent more of the total cost of the project,” added the senior MMRC official.
The development would mean JICA’s loan could go up to 65 per cent of the project from the current 57 per cent.
Further, to overcome protests by project-affected people (PAPs) whose homes will have to razed for the construction of Girgaum and Kalbadevi underground metro stations, the MMRC has now tweaked its original plan where the total project-affected families have been cut down from 737 to 378.
Recently, the Japanese government also issued a pledging letter for the 85 per cent loan it will grant to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) for the implementation of the 22-km-long Mumbai Trans Harbour Link Project (MTHL). The total cost of MTHL is around Rs 17,500 crore and the deadline for the project is 2019.
