The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has appointed the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to execute the Swami Samarth Nagar-Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Metro VI corridor.
“We have appointed the DMRC on a deposit terms basis,” said Dilip Kawathkar, joint project director (public relations), MMRDA. The DMRC will oversee the operation: from inviting bids to executing the civil work. The MMRDA will reimburse the expenses borne by the DMRC.
The DMRC is also implementing the Dahisar-D.N. Nagar Metro IIA corridor under the same model.
The agreement was signed on Monday by K. Vijaya Lakshmi, chief, transport and communications division, MMRDA, and S. D. Sharma, director, business development, DMRC, in the presence of Pravin Darade, additional metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA. The State Cabinet had given the go-ahead for the project in October.
The 14.5-km elevated corridor will have 13 stations: Swami Samarth Nagar, Adarsh Nagar, Momin Nagar, JVLR, Shyam Nagar, Maha Kali Caves, SEEPZ Village, Saki Vihar Road, Ram Baug, Powai Lake, IIT Powai, Kanjurmarg (W), and Vikhroli-Eastern Express Highway. The depot has been planned at Kanjurmarg.
The east-west corridor will provide connectivity to areas like Lokhandwala and Powai. The project cost is pegged at ₹5,490 crore.
It is slated to be operational by 2021, by when the MMRDA estimates that it will serve 6.5 lakh commuters daily and will cut travel time by 45 minutes. Each train on this line shall have six coaches.
In October, the government had also approved the construction of a 24-km Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan Metro V corridor.
