MUMBAI (Metro Rail News): The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) is implementing the city’s most ambitious projects, the 33.5-km fully underground Metro-3 (Colaba-Bandra-Seepz) majorly affected by the coronavirus-enforced lockdown in Mumbai.
In January 2020, MMRC set a new goal, which is to complete the tunneling work by December 2020 but due to lack of labourers, machinery and disruptions in the supply chain during the lockdown. The tunneling work of project likely delayed to beyond February 2021.
Before the lockdown, MMRC continued tunneling at a speed of 1,500 metres per month. Which has now reduced to 600m from the last two-and-a-half months. The number of labourers had reduced from 15,000 to 4,000 on-site, which has now improved to 6,000 as migrant labourers have started coming to the city. Currently, 80% of the tunneling work and 57% of the overall work have been completed.
“There has been a major disturbance in the supply chain, availability of labour and even spare parts. Notwithstanding that, we have completed 45.6km of tunneling work. While we did aim for December 2020 to complete tunneling work, it might go beyond February 2021 now. It is the stretch between Mahalakshmi and Mumbai Central that would spill over to 2021″ said the official.
MMRC was expecting that the first rolling stock (Train Coaches) by December 2020, that might also be postponed due to the lockdown. Maharastra Chief Minister Shri Uddhav Thackeray has also stalled the car-shed work at Aarey Colony, which would further delay the project. Thackeray stalled the work in November 2019 and appointed a committee to look at alternative options for the car-shed. Still, the state is yet to take a call on it.
The first deadline for Mumbai Metro line 3 of the fully underground corridor was June 2021, which was revised to December 2021, owing to delays caused by legal battles.
MMRC had estimated that even a day’s delay in Metro-3 would cost ₹4.2 crores in 2017. The project cost has already escalated from ₹23,000 crore to ₹32,000 crores.
Metro 2A and Metro 7 are likely to be operational by December 2020 had also been pushed to April 2021.
