Mumbai Metro III

Plans for financing the third Metro line, which will run underground from Colaba to Bandra and then go on to the airport, got a boost, with talks between the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) concluding successfully on Tuesday. Senior MMRDA officials, however, said issues like the environmental and social impact have yet to be settled. “The financial deal could amount to 70% of the Rs 18,000 crore estimated cost of the project,” MMRDA officials said. MMRDA commissioner Rahul Asthana said the JICA director was keen on financing the Metro. “They have tied up finance with several metros in the country, including Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore and are keen on Mumbai,’’ he said. Asthana said a detailed project report for the underground line will be ready by November. The project will be examined by a fact-finding committee of JICA officials from Tokyo before a final decision is taken, he said. Asthana said the JICA finance will work out to an interest rate of 4-5% after taking into account all details. JICA provides loans for infrastructure, development and health projects across the globe and has been active internationally since 1974. MMRDA officials said that as JICA normally finalizes its projects in March and September, they are trying to have the details ready by then. It is not clear if the project will be undertaken by the government or executed through public-private partnership (PPP), like the first two Metro projects. “The World Bank is also keen on financing the third line as it is already involved in infrastructure projects in the city. But JICA has an edge in this deal,’’ officials said.