The Urban Administration Development Department of Madhya Pradesh and its Metro Rail Co Ltd (MPMRCL) have submitted a letter of acceptance (LoA) to Dilip Buildicon (DBL) for the metro rail projects at Indore and Bhopal. The phase-1 is valued at Rs 247.06 crore and Rs 228.96 crore respectively for the Indore and Bhopal metros.
A total contract worth Rs 476.02 crore has been won by the highway builder group DBL. Metro Rail News has reported that DBL received the LoA for the projects on Friday, 5 October.
For the first time in India, Bhopal Metro project is based on the lines of Rapid Transit Light Metro (RTLM) system. Since Bhopal is also a hub of education, the metro comes in handy for students. The total length is about 35 km, with three corridors. The corridors proposed are between DMRC, M P Nagar, Mandideep Suruchi Nagar, BHEL, Bairagarh and Mandideep.
A depot near the international airport was proposed earlier, however an expert quoted by Metro Rail News as said, “The strategic importance of the location cannot be understated, but the Railway over Bridge (RoB) is a major hindrance. Design changes in RoB are being considered so that the Stud Farms location remains a viable alternative for a Metro rail depot.”