Work on Patna metro rail project is going on in full swing with the U-girders (precast pre-tensioned structures on which track laying can be done immediately) are being installed in the elevated section and tunnelling drive for underground network has commenced with the launch of tunnel boring machine (TBM) under Corridor II (Patna station-Patliputra Bus Terminal).
The officials of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC), the nodal agency for the project, said in elevated part of Corridor II, nearly 30% civil work has been completed while work on the elevated metro stations is going on simultaneously on all five stations under priority corridor.
“A total of 308 such U-girders are planned in the priority corridor comprising five stations, including Malahi Pakri, Khemnichak, Bhootnath, Zero Mile and Patliputra Bus Terminal. Of which, 44 U-girders have been placed so far near Zero Mile. Each structure weighs around 160 tonnes,” an official said.
The official said 11% of the underground portion civil work of Corridor II has been completed. The estimated time to construct the underground tunnel of Corridor II is 30 months.
According to officials, they are taking steps to minimize the impact of dust pollution during construction of the metro line in Patna. Patnaites will have to wait till 2026 for the first metro line in the city.
The estimated cost of the project is Rs13,365.77 crore (excluding land acquisition cost, which is to be borne by the state government). Twenty per cent of the project cost will be borne by the state government, 20% by the Centre and the remaining 60% will be borrowed as loan from JICA, which has recently signed an agreement with the Government of India to provide Japanese ODA loan of Rs5,509 crore for the phase-1 of the Patna metro rail project. The project is expected to be commissioned by 2028.