Cabinet meet: Haryana approves revised Gurugram Metro cost

Chandigarh: The Haryana govt has approved a budget blowout of ₹10,266.5 crore for the Gurugram Metro expansion to fund a major redesign, adding a new railway spur and a dedicated maintenance depot.The decision, finalised during a cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, nearly doubles the original sanctioned cost of the Millennium City Centre-to-Cyber City corridor. State officials attributed the sharp increase to price escalations between 2019 and 2023, revised GST rates, and significant structural alterations to the 28.5-km, 27-station transit line.Under the approved plan, Rs 7,098.7 crore of the updated budget will cover inflation and tax adjustments. A further Rs 947 crore is for standalone corridor requirements, while Rs 454.3 crore will fund the construction of a new 1.8-km spur from Sector 5 to the Gurugram railway station for improving multimodal transport links.The project that RITES had drafted originally in 2020 and the central govt had cleared subsequently will now operate independently of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) alignment, though it will integrate with the existing Rapid Metro. To support this standalone framework, the cabinet approved the development of an operations depot and allied facilities across 22.8 hectares of govt land in Sector 33.Financially, the cabinet shifted its funding strategy, electing to secure the entire soft loan component from the World Bank following confirmation delays from the European Investment Bank. The administrative secretary of the town and country planning department will oversee the execution of all project agreements.MSID:: 131178135 413 |