Second Mumbai Metro project to take off Aug 26

Mumbai will get its second Mumbai Metro Line, between Colaba and SEEPZ, with Japanese assistance, union Minister for Urban Development M. Venkaiah Naidu said here Friday.

The ground-breaking ceremony for the Rs.23,000 crore, 33-km metro line will be held at Andheri Aug 26, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said after a meeting with Naidu.

The Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will provide Rs.13,000 crore for the project which will be fully underground with 27 stations en route, he said.

Mumbai Metro Line III is the second mega project on the proposed metro rail network. The first, 11.40 km running elevated between Versova and Ghatkopar, has proved to be popular with Mumbaikars.

Naidu said: "The central government wants to connect entire Mumbai with a large metro network to decongest existing road and rail traffic and make the city pollution-free."

"The Colaba-SEEPZ link has been approved. Work will begin soon and we have another metro plan for the city on the agenda," Naidu said.

It had been approved in-principle by the erstwhile central government in February 2012.

Naidu will perform the ground-breaking ceremony in the presence of Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar and others, probably beating the model code of conduct that may be enforced in Maharashtra soon for assembly polls.

Besides, Naidu added that the Centre will soon approve the proposed Pune Metro to ease congestion in the state's cultural and academic capital.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday laid the foundation stone for the proposed Nagpur Metro Rail.

Naidu said the Centre plans to beef up metro rail connectivity with the existing surface railway lines for which discussions would be held with the Railway Ministry.

The state government has planned a total nine metro lines criss-crossing Mumbai over 161 km, and estimated to cost nearly Rs.68,000 crore over the next decade.

It has put on hold the proposed 32-km-long Mumbai Metro Line II, on the Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd route, owing to certain technical issues.