Japanese agency set to fund Mumbai metro

After the first round of discussions with officials from the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), MMRDA officials have said that the agency was quite positive about funding the metro and if all go as per the plan, the loan agreement can be signed next year between March and September.

MMRDA metropolitan commissioner Rahul Asthana said that JICA officials were very keen on funding the Colaba-Airport metro. “The funding issue now is on the rolling plan of the central government's department of economic affairs and will be executed on a priority,” said Asthana.

Although the formal announcement on the loan is not likely to come soon, sources within the authority confirmed that it was almost certain that JICA will bag the contract to fund the metro line III.