Mumbai: Consultant appointed for 3rd line of metro project

A general consultant for the Charkop-Bandra-SEEPZ metro rail project was on Saturday appointed by the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL). The consultant is a consortium, led by AECOM Asia of Hong Kong, comprising Padeco (Japan), LBG Inc (USA) and Egis Rail (France).

"The appointment of the general consultant paves the way for the speedy implementation of the Metro Line-3 project and they will assist MMRCL in design, supervision, quality control, safety and contract management of the project," said Sanjay Sethi, managing director of MMRCL.

The consultant will assist MMRCL right from start to finish, from initial paperwork to flagging off the trains-- including selecting the contractor who will build the metro line and stations, checking the blueprints for the project, supervising the construction, commissioning and testing the trains and the other systems, and finalisation of operations and maintenance manuals.

This 33.5 km long metro rail will be completely underground. It is being constructed at an estimated price of Rs 23,136 crore, with 57.2% of the cost being funded by Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

At present, environment activists are crying foul over the MMRCL's move to construct a car depot at Aarey Colony. On Saturday, MMRCL hacked down trees at the location despite not getting clearances from the tree authority, and a police complaint about this matter has been filed.