Now Reading: Maharashtra approves Rs 28,227 cr Metro, Pune Ring Road projects
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Maharashtra approves Rs 28,227 cr Metro, Pune Ring Road projects
The Maharashtra government has approved infrastructure projects worth Rs 28,227 crore, including Mumbai Metro Line 13 and the Pune Ring Road eastern expansion. Metro Line 13 is a 25.03-km corridor from Mira-Bhayandar to Vasai-Virar, costing Rs 17,724.99 crore. It will feature 16 stations, 13 elevated and three underground, along with a 4.92-km integrated six-lane road-and-metro bridge over Vasai Creek. The line is expected to cut travel time by half compared with road journeys and carry nearly 4.49 lakh passengers daily by 2031.
The Pune Ring Road eastern expansion was approved at Rs 10,502.36 crore for a 31.8-km access-controlled expressway with three lanes in each direction and a 120 kmph speed limit. The corridor will include bridges, viaducts, flyovers, tunnels and interchanges to divert inter-city traffic away from Pune's congested roads. The two projects together aim to improve suburban connectivity in Mumbai's growing northern suburbs and ease Pune's industrial and logistics traffic.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The approvals come as Maharashtra’s urban population swells past 50% of the state total, straining roads and railways built decades ago. Metro Line 13 will directly serve the Vasai-Virar belt, a dormitory suburb that sends lakhs of commuters into Mumbai daily but has no dedicated rail corridor of its own. The Vasai Creek bridge, combining road and metro on a single structure, is an unusual design that saves time and land acquisition costs but raises technical risks: similar integrated bridges in Delhi and Bengaluru have faced delays. The Pune Ring Road’s eastern section completes a partial ring, the western half remains unfunded. Both projects require central government clearance and land acquisition under the 2013 Act, which can take 3, 5 years. Watch for the first tender notices and the state’s land acquisition cost estimates, which often exceed initial projections.
Source: businesstoday.in
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Methodology and corrections.
