The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority on Friday said the first Metro line will be commissioned by December next year, a few months behind the July target.

Civil construction is 60 per cent complete on the 11.4 km Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar corridor; overall, 50 per cent of the project is complete, says Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd, the special purpose vehicle formed by Reliance Infrastructure, MMRDA and Veolia Transport.

“The project is not just civil construction. It includes rolling stock, signalling, power supply, communications etc. Civil construction is about 60 per cent complete against all odds. The overall progress has been excellent,” said K P Maheshwari, director, Metro One.

Ratnakar Gaikwad, Metropolitan Commissioner, said December 2010 would mean completion ahead of schedule as the concession agreement had specified five years as the construction period. Metro One, however, had set itself a deadline of July 2010. “By July civil construction will be completed and people will see the train run on the corridor,” Gaikwad said.

A few hurdles, however, remain. Maheshwari said nearly 2.5 km in pockets remains to be handed over. One such stretch is from SV Road junction to a mosque near the Andheri railway tracks, where the pier for a bridge will come up. Another stretch is in Andheri East, from the station and nearly up to Western Express Highway. From Mahakali Caves to LBS Marg, the entire road barring a 500-metre stretch remains to be handed over. Metro One is also waiting for the handover of a small stretch near the depot, which has been encroached on and without which rakes can’t enter, Maheshwari said.

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