Noida, Gr. Noida authorities opt out of PPP Metro model
14 Jan 2013 12:46 AM GMT
Bitter experiences of Airport Express line, Delhi’s most controversial metro route, have cast their shadow on public private partnership (PPP) model in the Rs 5,500-plus crore project of Noida-Greater Noida metro route. The authorities – Noida and Greater Noida – rejected the detailed project report (DPR) and reversed decision from an independent PPP model to deposit work model (DWM) of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), in their board meeting recently.
‘Like the successful Delhi to Noida city centre stretch of Delhi Metro, this route will also be completed as per DWM,’ said Sanjeev Saran, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Noida. In its earlier meeting in July 2012, the board had cleared PPP model citing ‘cost of the project is too high for the authorities to bear’. According to the officers of the authority involved in the project, the current controversy of Delhi Airport line and its failure to restart the operation even after crossing several deadlines was the main reason to reject the PPP model.
The authorities, in their earlier board meeting on 9 July 2012, had approved PPP model for the Noida-Greater Noida Metro line, just two days after Delhi Airport Metro Express Ltd (DAMEL) closed its operations on 22.7 km Delhi Airport Express Line. ‘At the time of PPP approval, we had thought that the operations would start in a month or two and we will be able to defend the PPP model before senior officers and government in Lucknow. But as the operations could not take off even after six months nobody trusted us,’ said a senior officers involved in the project. ‘The new model is being send to Lucknow for approval of the state government and DMRC will prepare a fresh DPR for the project,’ said the officer. He further added that the old data could be used in new DPR but it will be prepared afresh.
Meanwhile, Delhi Airport Express Line which started on 23 February 2011 after missing four previously set deadlines has missed yet another deadline for its restart. So far DAMEL has not announced any date for restart of the operations on Delhi Airport Express Line, connecting New Delhi Railway Station to IGI Airport, but a test drive is scheduled for 15-16 January, 2013.
‘Like the successful Delhi to Noida city centre stretch of Delhi Metro, this route will also be completed as per DWM,’ said Sanjeev Saran, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Noida. In its earlier meeting in July 2012, the board had cleared PPP model citing ‘cost of the project is too high for the authorities to bear’. According to the officers of the authority involved in the project, the current controversy of Delhi Airport line and its failure to restart the operation even after crossing several deadlines was the main reason to reject the PPP model.
The authorities, in their earlier board meeting on 9 July 2012, had approved PPP model for the Noida-Greater Noida Metro line, just two days after Delhi Airport Metro Express Ltd (DAMEL) closed its operations on 22.7 km Delhi Airport Express Line. ‘At the time of PPP approval, we had thought that the operations would start in a month or two and we will be able to defend the PPP model before senior officers and government in Lucknow. But as the operations could not take off even after six months nobody trusted us,’ said a senior officers involved in the project. ‘The new model is being send to Lucknow for approval of the state government and DMRC will prepare a fresh DPR for the project,’ said the officer. He further added that the old data could be used in new DPR but it will be prepared afresh.
Meanwhile, Delhi Airport Express Line which started on 23 February 2011 after missing four previously set deadlines has missed yet another deadline for its restart. So far DAMEL has not announced any date for restart of the operations on Delhi Airport Express Line, connecting New Delhi Railway Station to IGI Airport, but a test drive is scheduled for 15-16 January, 2013.
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