Pune Metro update

In a major development which could give the Pune metro rail project a much-needed boost, the PMC and PCMC have resolved their differences on sharing costs of the project’s first corridor that stretches between PCMC and Swargate. The two civic bodies were at loggerheads over the funding pattern of the 16.59-km corridor. At one point, the PMC had accused the PCMC of tardiness, threatened to give up on the first corridor and start work on the second corridor where the PCMC is not involved.
Now, however, in a proposal submitted to the standing committee for setting up a Special Purpose Vehicle, the PMC commissioner has stated that the PCMC is ready for the first corridor. The two civic bodies will fund 10% of the total project cost, calculated in proportion to the length of the corridor in their civic limits. While 7.15 km of the corridor will fall in the PCMC limits, the remaining 9.44 km will pass through the Khadki cantonment and PMC areas.
The first corridor plan had until now been put on the backburner, with the PMC concentrating on the second metro corridor that runs from Vanaz to Ramwadi, which the PMC had resolved to construct in 2010. It got the state cabinet's nod in June, 2012, when it approved the 14.925-km elevated route. For this corridor, the state government decided to follow the DMRC model, where PMC will contribute 10 % of the total project cost while the state and Centre will contribute 20 % each. It had then asked the PMC to form an SPV called the Pune Metro Rail Corporation (PMRC), which would raise the remaining 50% using various options like build-operate-transfer (BOT) and public private partnership (PPP) and implement the whole project. It set a deadline of five years for the same. The state government had also decided to appoint a high-powered committee headed by the chief secretary to ensure the smooth implementation of the project.

For now, with the cost sharing resolved between PMC and PCMC, observers say this should give the necessary impetus for the city to realize its metro rail dream.

METRO FILE

PCMC to Swargate
Underground : 5.019 km
Elevated : 11.570 km
Total : 16.589 km
Stations : Nine elevated and six underground
Status : PMC and PCMC resolve differences. After approval at local level the proposal will be forwarded to the state government

Vanaz to Ramwadi
Underground : Nil
Elevated : 14.925 km
Stations : 15 elevated
Status : The state government has approved the project