Centre assures state of funding viability for Mumbai metro, monorail

The central government’s urban development department (UDD) has assured a visiting delegation from Mumbai that it will be funding the viability gap of the third line between Colaba and Bandra.

The delegation included state UDD and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) officials, informed the central UDD that the city required Rs10,000 crore for the viability gap funding of metro and monorail projects. “We told the centre that out of the total requirement, metro line three is a unique case, with a viability gap of almost 50%. However, the central government has assured us that it will be providing some assistance to the project,” said MMRDA metropolitan commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad, who was part of the delegation.

Out of the nine metro lines being planned, two of which are already under construction,  the 20km Colaba-Bandra one has a construction cost of approximately Rs10,000 crore. The Centre has given MMRDA three options for the project. The first is the cash contract model, under which the state, Centre and a financial institution will fund the project. The second model is the public-private partnership (PPP) model, and the third is a combination of PPP and cash contract models. “We have informed the Centre that we are only interested in the PPP model, so that the MMRDA and the state can arrange for funds if the centre can’t provide the entire gap,” said Gaikwad. He added that the central UDD has shown interest in providing the viability gap for the other six metro lines and monorail lines, totalling Rs10,000 crore.