Central Govt approves Ahmedabad Metro Phase-II project

Ahmedabad (Urban Transport News): The Central Government has finally given its approval on the phase-II of Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar metro connecting the financial capital of Gujarat with the state’s political and administrative capital. The Phase-II will connect Gandhinagar to Motera with the tracks starting from where the North-South corridor (APMC-Vasna to Motera) ends.

The project cost of the Ahmedabad Metro Phase-II is Rs.5,523 crores. Recently a meeting of the metro rail authorities and Public Investment Board (PIB) took up and discussion was held on all Metro projects including those in Agra, Kanpur, Patna, Ahmedabad, and the RRTS between Delhi and Meerut. According to policy, PIB approval is mandatory since the central government has equity in all metro projects executed by entities such as the DMRC, where the Central government and the concerned state have a 50-50 partnership in equity.

In the meeting of Public Investment Board (PIB),  the Ahmedabad Metro Phase II project received final approval and the proposal was sent to the finance secretary for signing. It is now just a formality. Once the PIB approves, the finance secretary has to give his approval. The formal announcement is likely to be made when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates the 6 km stretch of the Ahmedabad Metro from Vastral Gam to Apparel Park. PM Modi is likely to inaugurate the metro services in the second week of March.

The Ahmedabad Metro Phase-II corridors will connect important education institutes and other areas like Gujarat National Law University, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Infocity, Gift City, Sachivalaya, Akshardham and will end at Mahatma Mandir, which is close to Gandhinagar railway station. According to sources, the Rs.5,523 crores project will be nearly 28.5 km long and will have another line from GNLU linking PDPU and Gift City. The Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar metro corridor will have 20 stations excluding Motera which is the last station on the APMC-Motera North-South corridor.

The project will be executed by the Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation (GMRC), an SPV set up for implementing and operating metro rail projects in the state. “In order to achieve the maximum benefit, the DPR made in 2014 for Ahmedabad Metro Project Phase-I projected that connectivity to Gandhinagar will be provided from the North-South corridor of Phase-I. Accordingly, the 2017 DPR has been prepared for Phase-II, which will connect Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar”, said a GMRC official. As per norms of the new metro rail policy announced in August 2017 by the Central government, GMRC has also decided to extend the nearly 6-km Metro rail into GIFT City.

The 6-km long project will be taken up by GIFT City using the PPP model. Sources said that one station outside the GIFT City will be funded through the main project, but the cost of the 6-km elevated corridor and three stations inside GIFT city will be borne by Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT), a business district promoted by the Government of Gujarat through a joint venture company. GMRC officials said that the GIFT City route was mentioned in the proposal and sent to the government of Gujarat, but as the Centre changed the policy, the GIFT City route was included through PPP and a revised proposal was approved accordingly.