Monorail project work to start in Jan

The first monorail corridor in the country will finally see the light of day, but at a cost higher than what was expected. The executive committee of the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) gave the green signal to the of 19.5km corridor from Jacob Circle to Chembur.

Initially, the single-track rail system was to be constructed at a cost of Rs1,440 crore. The only consortium eligible to build it, Schumi Engineering and Larson & Tubro, even agreed to complete the project, but the estimated cost quoted by them was a cause of concern for the officials.

However, three consultants — Rites, Louis Berger and Sovil — worked out the financial model of the project. The final decision was to give the work order at a cost of Rs2,460 crore. “We can expect the work to start in January,” said MMRDA spokesperson Dilip Kawathkar.

Bidding for Metro phase II: 
January will also see the bhoomipoojan of the second phase of the metro railway corridor. There are seven parties in the fray for building the second line which will be between Charkop-Bandra and Mankhurd. All parties have been sent requests for proposals by MMRDA. The bidding process will be completed by December and the project will kick-start from January.