JICA offers to fund metro corridors

The Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has offered to fund the upcoming metro corridors in the city and Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

The Mumbai Metropolitan Development Authority (MMRDA), the implementing agency of metro corridors, needs Rs 35,000 crore for constructing a 118-km metro network in the city and its peripheral areas by 2019.

MMRDA is also in talks with Asian Development Bank (ADB) for raising funds for Dahisar-DN Nagar Metro-2 corridor and Andheri-east Dahisar-east Metro-7 corridor. The total cost of both the metro corridors is expected to be around Rs 13,000 crore.

CM Devendra Fadnavis, also the chairman of MMRDA, said, “We have communicated to JICA that we will implement the Metro-2 and Metro-7 corridors by raising funds from the Asian Development Bank. However, JICA has offered financial help for the upcoming metro corridors in the city.”

Tenders for the 16.5-km Metro-7 corridor was floated last month by MMRDA for which it had received 16 bidders. While, DMRC, which was appointed by the MMRDA to construct 18.6-km Metro-2, also floated the tenders last month and has set the deadline of 2019 to complete the project.

“The ratio of funding for the project will be decided only once the team of JICA carefully studies the project. It will be too early to assume the amount that can be raised from JICA in terms of a loan,” said a senior MMRDA official.

With this, MMRDA will also float tenders for the the 22.2-km DN Nagar-Mankhurd- Mandala Metro-2B corridor and the Wadala-Ghatkopar-Thane-Kasarvadavali Metro-4 corridor for which MMRDA will require around Rs 15,000 crore. The total cost of Metro-2B is around Rs 7,000 crore and a detailed project report (DPR) is being prepared for Metro-4 after which the total cost for the project can be determined.

Last year MMRDA had asked the state to raise funds from institutions such as World Bank, JICA and other national and international financial institutions.