Post the recent Assembly elections and the general elections a few months ago, the Urban Development Department (UDD), in a bid to speed up the Pune Metro rail project, has proposed that Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) be appointed as consultant for the Pune project, too.

Even as the project report is being assessed by Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), the UDD feels that MMRC can give a boost to the Pune Metro project. “The main task of MMRC will be to call for bids as well as assess the viability gap, which would mean assessing the cost of the project as against the amount the operator was willing to invest on a Build Operate and Transfer (BoT) basis. The MMRC will also have to check on funding from the central and state governments for the project as well as keep a tab on the private participant,” said a senior UDD officer.

With MMRC already doing the same in Mumbai, it should not be too difficult to set up a local office and help the Pune project along, he added.

The MMRC has additional metropolitan commissioner Milind Mhaiskar and Principal Secretary (Urban Development) T C Benjamin as board members. A railway expert appointed by the state too will be on the board. “Post the two elections there has not been much progress in the Metro project and CM designate Ashok Chavan has assured us he would take the project onward,” said the UDD officer.

The Mumbai project has Reliance infrastructre as private participant for Metro I and II and Pune, likewise, will have to find a private investor. A senior officer from the district administration said private players need to come forward for the project. “Tenders should be invited from big players for investment as costs involved are high. Every kilometre will cost Rs 250 crore,” he said.

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