Mumbai, Nov. 9 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually inaugurate Pune Metro Rail Line 3 on 3 November and lay the foundation stone for four Phase-II expansion projects, MahaMetro Managing Director Shravan Hardikar said. The inauguration and foundation-laying ceremony will be held through video conferencing, while a ground event will take place at the Balewadi sports complex.
The Pink Line, also known as Line 3, covers 23 km between Maan and the District Court Metro station. It will provide direct metro connectivity between the Hinjewadi information technology hub and Shivajinagar. The line was built at a cost of more than Rs. 83 bn and will be inaugurated by Modi at 12.30 pm.
The ceremony will be attended by Maharashtra Governor Jishnu Dev Varma, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar, local elected representatives and other dignitaries. The Prime Minister's Office said the new corridor would improve urban mobility and highlighted its planned use of solar power for almost a third of its electricity requirements, as well as its operation by women.
The Phase-II expansion includes a 12-km extension of the existing Line 2, with 13 stations. The western section will connect Vanaz with Chandni Chowk, while the eastern section will run from Ramwadi to Vitthalwadi in Wagholi. The extension has an estimated cost of more than Rs. 36 bn.
The programme also covers Line 4 and its spur, Line 4A. Line 4 will run for about 31 km from Khadakwasla through Sinhagad Road, Swargate, Shankarshet Road, Hadapsar and Magarpatta Road to Kharadi Bypass. Line 4A will connect Manikbag with the SNDT station at Nal Stop through Warje and Karve Road. Together, the two projects are estimated to cost Rs. 135 bn, taking the total investment for the announced Phase-II works to about Rs. 218 bn. MahaMetro is expected to execute the network expansion over 4.5 years.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Construction World.