Setting the ball rolling for extension of Delhi Metro’s Blue Line, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) last week submitted the revised detailed project report (DPR) for the Metro link from Noida’s Sector 62 (Electronic City) to Sahibabad in Ghaziabad.
The proposed 5.017 km extension is set to include five stations, namely Vaibhav Khand near DPS Indirapuram, Shakti Khand, Vasundhara Sector 7, and will terminate at Sahibabad, adjacent to the Sahibabad station of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project, and will create an interchange hub for passengers.
In 2023, the authority tentatively approved a Rs 1,517 crore metro link for the Sector 62 to Sahibabad route. Unfortunately, following the state government’s refusal to allocate funds for the link, the authority asked the DMRC last month to reevaluate the initial DPR.
The updated DPR, submitted the previous week, has led to a rise in the project expenses by approximately Rs 356 crore. The revised projected cost in the latest DPR is now set at Rs 1,873.31 crore.
Significantly, both DPRs have proposed a similar length, encompassing five stations, and a similar funding structure for the project, with the primary change being the escalation of the project cost.
According to the revised DPR, the proposed link will require 7,690.10 square metres of private land and 19,001.2 square metres of government land, which may explain the escalation in project cost.
Officials from the GDA mentioned that they will soon send the revised DPR to the state government, urging its involvement in both funding and providing government land for the project.
According to the revised DPR, 20 per cent of the total cost will be covered by the Union government, while the remaining portion will be funded by the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government.