Growing urbanisation has been putting increasing pressure on the existing transport system. While Tier I cities are nearing their saturation, a rural-to-urban migration is being seen in Tier II cities. This is driving the development of urban transport in smaller cities. According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, nearly 740 km of metro lines are operational in various cities in India and the network span is scheduled to increase to about 900 km by 2022. Besides, 1,000 km metro lines are under construction in various cities in India and the total span will be close to 2,000 km in the coming years.
Indian Infrastructure takes a look at the key upcoming projects in the urban metro transport space…
Delhi Metro Phase IV
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has continued with the construction work of its Phase IV corridor despite several constraints induced by the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to DMRC, the tunnelling work between Janakpuri West and Krishna Park Extension on the Janakpuri West-RK Ashram Marg corridor of DMRC’s first underground section under Phase IV achieved many targets during the second Covid wave, as it completed tunnelling of 500 metres of one of the 2.8 km long twin tunnels. Besides, on the same stretch, the Delhi Metro erected the first-ever T-girder at Mukarb Chowk in May 2021. On the Majlis Park-Maujpur corridor, Delhi Metro made steady progress despite shortage of labour. In addition, casting of U-girders, T-girders, erection of U-girders, pier caps, construction of piers at the station and viaduct location were carried on. On the Tughlakabad-Aerocity corridor, the casting yard at Panchsheel Park was prepared for casting the installation of all necessary pieces of equipment. Currently, DMRC is engaged in the construction of 65 km of new lines across three priority corridors as part of its Phase IV expansion. These corridors are expected to be completed by 2025. However, as the Covid scenario is still evolving, the completion targets shall be reviewed accordingly.
Ahmedabad Metro rail project Phase I and Surat Metro
Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) will be connected to the metro rail network under the Rs 53.84 billion Phase II of the Ahmedabad Metro project by the beginning of 2024. The second phase of construction involves two elevated corridors. The first corridor will begin at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium at Motera (where Phase 1 culminates) and extend northwards connecting Sector 1 and Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar. At the Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) metro station, a short 5.42 km metro rail line will branch out eastwards and connect GIFT City across the dry riverbed of the Sabarmati river. Afcons will construct an 8.1 km elevated viaduct and eight stations between Motera and the GNLU station and will the 5.4 km stretch between GNLU station and GIFT City. This stretch between GNLU station and GIFT City will also have Pandit Deendayal Energy University as a station. Phase II of the Ahmedabad Metro project was sanctioned in March 2019 and so far, according to Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation (GMRC) officials, only 10 per cent of the work in the second phase, which involves 28.25 km and 22 stations, has been completed.
In another major development, the construction work for Phase I of the Rs 120.2 billion Surat metro rail project has been started after tenders worth over Rs 30.02 billion for various civil works, including those for the underground section, were awarded by GMRC. Phase I of the project is targeted to be completed by March 2024. The first tender for building the 11.6 km elevated section from Dream City to Chowk Bazar has been awarded to a venture between Sadbhav Engineering Limited and SP Singla Constructions Private Limited. The underground section on the same corridor between Dream City and Sarthana has been allotted in two packages. JK Infra Projects has been awarded the contract to construct the underground section between Chowk Bazar and Surat railway station at a cost of Rs 9.43 billion.
Patna Metro
The work is set to begin on twin tunnels, underground ramp and six underground stations on a 14.05 km stretch, from Akashvani to Rajendra Nagar in Patna. L&T Construction is likely to get the work order for the stretch as it emerged as the lowest bidder in the process conducted by DMRC, the technical consultant for the Patna Metro Rail Corporation. The Akashvani-Rajendra Nagar part of the network involves the design and construction of twin tunnels, an underground ramp at Rajendra Nagar and six underground metro stations – Rajendra Nagar, Moin-ul-Haq Stadium, University, Patna Medical College Hospital, Gandhi Maidan and Akashvani – adding that the project would cost around Rs 19.89 billion.
Hyderabad Metro
The GMR Group, which is operating the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), will be investing over Rs 5 billion in a Rs 50 billion metro rail link project being proposed by the Telangana government for connectivity to the aerodrome from various parts of the city. The Telangana government has conveyed its approval for the extension of the metro rail link to RGIA from various parts of the city under Phase II of the Hyderabad Metro project. The government has already formed a special purpose vehicle – Hyderabad Airport Metro Limited – which would be responsible for the development, construction, operations and management of the airport metro link, which is expected to span about 31 km in total. The plan envisages the development of an alignment of 8 km, along with setting up of three metro stations within the premises of RGIA.
Kochi Metro
According to reports, Kochi Metro Rail Limited would complete its Phase IA and IB extensions, from Pettah to SN Junction and from there to Thripunithura, a total of 3 km, by March 2022 and December 2022 respectively. The estimated project cost of Phase IA and IB extensions, including property development, is Rs 7.11 billion and Rs 4.53 billion respectively and this includes land acquisition for property development work at Vadakekotta and Thripunithura. The total project cost for Phase I, including extension Phase IA and IB, is Rs 73.77 billion. The 11.20 km Phase II extension to Kakkanad is estimated to cost Rs 19.57 billion. The total cost of the project, including Phases I and II, will thus be around Rs 93.34 billion. Construction work under Phase IA and IB has been progressing as per schedule in full swing to complete the work before the deadline. The Kerala government has accorded administrative sanction of Rs 2.63 billion for the preparatory works of Phase II. Land acquisition procedures for the same are in progress. Preparatory works from Kakkanad Junction to Infopark Expressway entrance, a distance of 2.5 km, are in progress and are expected to be completed in December 2021.
Other projects and opportunities ahead
Maha Metro is executing a metro rail project in Navi Mumbai. Nagpur Metro Phase I is partially operational, while work is going on in the remaining stretches, which will be completed by 2021 end. The construction of Pune Metro Phase I is also progressing at a fast pace. Further, new metro rail construction projects are coming up in cities such as Kanpur, Agra, In-dore, Bhopal and Chennai.
With regard to market opportunities across various segments, the maximum opportunities exist for contractors/developers with regard to the construction of urban rail systems. Consultants also have a host of opportunities in the urban rail sector. While the upcoming metro projects have kept the demand buoyant for detailed design consultants and general consultants, Metrolite and Metroneo projects also present a new set of opportunities for consultants, given that there is no prior paradigm model (such as the Delhi Metro in the case of metro rail systems) in these segments. The financing opportunity for multilateral agencies in engineering, procurement and construction projects is huge and the demand for materials will continuously rise as more and more urban rail projects are put on the block.