India to invest ₹91,700 crore in 329-km new metro rail networks in Delhi-NCR

New Delhi, India (Urban Transport News): The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has received proposals for Metro and Rapid Rail projects with a cumulative length of around 329 km to be developed at an estimated Rs 91,700 crore spanning the National Capital Region (NCR).

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha this week, the ministry said these proposals are under various stages of “appraisal/approval”. The details of the projects submitted in the Lower House show that the proposal for the remaining three corridors of Delhi Metro's Phase-IV, having a total length of 47 km, has been taken up with the ministry. The estimated cost for these corridors is Rs 12,587 crore.

The Uttar Pradesh government has submitted the proposal for the extension of the Noida-Greater Noida Metro link of approximately 15 km and the estimated cost is around Rs 2,456 crore. Haryana government has also sought approval for a 28.5 km Metro line from Huda City Centre to Cyber City and a spur to the upcoming Dwarka Expressway. This would require about Rs 5,960 crore investments.

The inter-ministerial consultations have started on all the projects and would be put for approval soon.

The biggest share of the mass rapid transit system (MRTS) proposals from the NCR constituent states is for the RRTS projects and these would require maximum investment. For example, only the 106.5 km Delhi-Gurgaon-SNB (Shahjahanpur-Neemrana-Behror) urban complex corridor would cost around Rs 35,216 crore, according to the initial estimate. The ministry has also received a proposal for the 33 km RRTS link from SNB Complex to Sotanala RIICO industrial area in Rajasthan. The estimated cost for this 33 km link is around Rs 6,188 crore.

"The costs are now being reworked before it's taken for appraisal and approval. Similarly, the cost of the 103 km Delhi-Sonipat RRTS corridor has been estimated at around Rs 29,300 crore. These two and the Delhi-Meerut RRTS corridor were identified as the priority stretches in 2012-13 by the UPA government," said officials.