About 98% of the land for the Hinjewadi-Shivajinagar Metro corridor had been acquired, said Suhas Diwase, the commissioner of Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA).
Diwase said the project start date would be announced soon by the concessionaire. “The process from our side is complete. The University flyover plan too has been approved by the technical committee. There should be no delay in announcing the date by the concessionaire, Tata-Siemens,” Diwase told TOI on Saturday.
Once the date is announced, work will speed up and should be completed in 40 months. As per PMRDA officials, the plan has also been approved by the Pune Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (PUNTA).
A technical committee under former Public Works Department Secretary C T Joshi (retired) and chief engineers from Pune Municipal Corporation, PMRDA, PWD and the Superintendent Engineer of PMRDA will decide the pacing work and cost.
While the University flyover plan has been cleared by the technical committee, the final approval must be taken from PMC’s general body. PMRDA officials said the funding aspect too must be decided. An official said they have been waiting for the past eight months for the approval
The central government’s share of Rs 1224.8 crore too is awaited under the Viability Gap Funding. The total cost of the project, with the land acquisition and rehabilitation, is pegged at Rs8,314 crore. The concessionaire will bear 60% of the cost of the project.
The concession agreement is for a 35-year period, with an option to extend it for 25 years. “About 70% of barricading and 100% geotechnical investigation are complete,” an official said, adding that soil testing, structural design, and work at the casting yard also started.