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Showing posts with label MMOPL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MMOPL. Show all posts

Monday, 17 August 2015

08:30

Speed up land transfer for Metro Rail projects, Fadnavis tells officials

Speed up land transfer for Metro Rail projects, Fadnavis tells officials

Mumbai: Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis has asked government officials to ensure speedy transfer of land for the upcoming metro projects in the state, so they are not delayed because of acquisition issues.

The state has issued a government resolution for advance transfer of land for metro projects to the implementing agencies, enabling them to acquire land before the actual constriction actives begin.

The construction of the Colaba-Bandra-Seepz metro project – Metro 3 – is expected to begin soon, for which the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) needs 75 hectares. In a review meeting on Friday, Fadnavis asked the revenue and urban development department secretaries to facilitate acquisition of this land, under the possession of seven to eight government departments and some private owners.

The Reliance Infra-led Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd (MMOPL) has claimed increase in cost of the Metro 1, from the original Rs 2,356 crore to over Rs 4,000 crore, mostly because of delays in land acquisition.

In the same meeting, MMRC asked the state government to hand over a parcel of land in Kanjurmarg, which an expert committee had recommended as a suitable spot for the construction of a metro car depot.

The location earlier decided for the depot was at Aarey Colony, Goregaon, which had led to strong protests by environmental activists and residents.

When contacted, Fadnavis said no decision had been taken yet on the metro depot issue.

Meanwhile, the state has already issued a government resolution for transfer of land to the MMRC. Of the 75 hectares, the corporation needs 13 hectares permanently, while 62 hectares will be used temporarily for activities before tunnel boring and station construction.

The MMRC has received possession of about 30 hectares of land, including a part of Oval Maidan from the sports department. Officials from the corporation said

they are expecting to get the entire 75 hectares by October this year.
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Tuesday, 14 July 2015

18:49

Ex-bureaucrat on Mumbai Metro Fare Fixation panel wanted maximum fare as Rs.26

Ex-bureaucrat on Mumbai Metro Fare Fixation panel wanted maximum fare as Rs.26

Mumbai: In the backdrop of a report of the Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) recommending the maximum fare for the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar Mumbai Metro to be kept at Rs.110, it has emerged that one of its members had wanted the highest fare to be capped at Rs.26.

The FFC comprised Justice E Padmanabhan as chairman, members included ex-chief secretary of Maharashtra Jayant Kumar Banthia and former law secretary Dr TK Vishwanathan.

State representative Banthia differed from the views of other two members. Sources said that the fare suggested by the former bureaucrat was keeping in the mind a balance among all aspect.

In its report, which was submitted to authorities recently, the FFC has recommended that the tickets be priced between Rs 10 and Rs.110 for the 11.4-km elevated corridor.

At present, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and R-Infra-promoted Mumbai Metro One Private Ltd (MMOPL) are locked in a tug of war over the fares. Before commencement of the service, the state had suggested a structure – Rs.9-11-13 – for the Metro. However, MMOPL went ahead with Rs.10-20-30-40, leading to friction between the two partners.

Banthia’s suggestion of capping the maximum fare at Rs.26 had taken into account various factors such as affordability of commuting, increase in the project cost from Rs.2,356 crore to Rs.4,321 crore and expectations of R-Infra and MMRDA.

“There couldn’t have been a better solution and the fare suggested by ex-chief secretary Banthia is the perfect way out to the entire on-going fare war,” said a state official.

“He suggested that if the project cost has doubled, so government approved fares too must be doubled from Rs.9-11-13 to Rs.18-22-26. While bidding for the metro project, it was obvious for the Mumbai Metro One Private Limited that it will take 10-12 years to breakeven the project cost, now why to hurry to start making profits immediately?” questioned another official.

MMRDA, which lost the first round after the Bombay High Court didn’t restrain MMOPL from continuing with the Rs.10-20-30-40, is likely to move the Supreme Court in the third week of this month. Suggestions by the FFC in the report are likely to be presented along with its petition.
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Saturday, 11 July 2015

23:05

Mumbai Metro fares can be much lower, insist experts

Mumbai Metro fares can be much lower, insist experts

Mumbai: Metro commuters can evade a fare burden if the authorities think out-of-the-box, liberalizing commercial exploitation rules at stations and subside the interest burden on the loan component and electricity tariff.

The three-member fare-fixation committee (FCC) has recommended fares in the range of Rs.10-110 for the 11.4 km Metro corridor that has 12 stations on the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar route.

The Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd (MMOPL) has taken a loan from Indian and foreign banks with an interest of 13% during construction and 11.7% post re-financing. But the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has sought a Japan Bank of Industrial Cooperation (JBIC) loan at 1.2% interest through government lending. Also, all foreign exchange fluctuations are borne by the government in the case of DMRC, while MMOPL has to bear the entire risk of forex fluctuations. DMRC has also been given transit-oriented development rights along the Metro corridor, helping it raise earnings through non-fare box revenue.

An expert said, “The state government should liberalize rules of commercial exploitation of air space at Metro stations along the corridor, which have emerged as a major corporate hub over the past decade. They can earn handsome revenue which can help reduce fares. Real estate rates in Mumbai are among the highest and the authorities should allow MMOPL to take advantage of it with stricter norms to ensure that the earnings should bring down fares.” He added, “If low interest rates and cheap electricity tariff are available for Mumbai Metro, fares can be Rs.10-60.” Another expert said, “The government should review the discriminatory PPP policy.”
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Friday, 10 July 2015

19:49

Mumbaikars to brace for another Metro Rail fare hike – this time it’s Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar line

Mumbaikars to brace for another Metro Rail fare hike – this time it’s Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar line

Mumbai: Mumbaikars should brace themselves for a fare hike, this time it’s Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar Mumbai Metro.

Journey on the elevated corridor is going to become expensive in the coming weeks. There are plans with Mumbai Metro One Private Limited (MMOPL) to further hike the already increased fares over which the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra) led MMOPL have locked horns.

RInfra-led MMOPL wants to increase its revenue not only for ticket sales but also from non-ticketing revenue like advertisement rights and real estate development.

This move has been made public by MMOPL after the Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) submitted its report on Wednesday. The FFC was formed to ascertain if the existing fare structure of Rs10-20-30-40 implemented by MMOPL is appropriate or MMRDA’s demand for fare model Rs9-11-13 should be in force.

Hearing by FFC was held on June 11 by retired Justice E Padmanabhan as chairman, members include ex-Chief Secretary of Maharashtra Jayant Kumar Banthia and former Law Secretary Dr T. K. Vishwanathan.

Thus, if you travel the entire 11.4-km – Versova to Ghatkopar or either way – you are likely to pay above Rs40, which is currently being levied.

“MMOPL is examining the FFC Report submitted on 8th July, and will work towards phased implementation of the FFC recommendations, with gradual fare increases together with the mitigating impact of potential real estate development and subsidy from the state govternment, and keeping in mind at all times the overall interest of our valued commuters,” said an MMOPL spokesperson.

MMOPL is yet to lease out spaces at Western Express Highway Metro station. Sources said that this is one of the locations that is likely to be tapped to generate revenue. The other may be at Ghatkopar Metro station. More stalls may be seen at all the stations which will help the operator garner more revenue from non-ticketing options.
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Sunday, 14 June 2015

10:47

Mumbai Metro-I cost rose by Rs.1714 Crore because of delays, design tweaks

Mumbai Metro-I cost rose by Rs.1714 Crore because of delays, design tweaks

Mumbai: Information procured by a Ghatkopar citizen under the Right to Information (RTI) act from the Mumbai Metro One Private Ltd (MMOPL) has claimed that the cost of the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar corridor increased by Rs 1714 crore due to delay in handing the Right of Way and changes in design because of constraints on the ground.

The State information commission has ruled that the MMOPL comes under the RTI act after former central information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi was directed to the MMRDA when he sought copies of the inspection report given by the commissioner of metro rail safety from MMOPL.

Ghatkopar resident Sanjeev Durve said, “I filed and RTI to ascertain the increase in project cost and the reasons for the delay. The reply provided MMOPL states that the project was delayed the right of way was not provided any many places, the MMOPL was forced to change the design because of constraints like utilities and encroachments.”

Durve said that he had filed RTI asking similar question to the MMRDA. The official reply also matches the MMOPL’s answers. He said, “MMRDA said that unable to carry our road widening at JP road, acquisition of land at Sarvodaya hospital, shifting of utilities, Relief and Rehabilitation work, erection of girders on narrow and congested road were the reasons for delay and cost escalation”

This RTI reply also states that delay was partly by MMRDA and major by MMOPL. Durve said, “The study of reply indicate that the MMRDA failed to properly plan the project as result the execution of this corridor was delayed, causing hardships to the residents.”

He also pointed that, as per the MMOPL’s reply the right of way was only given in February 2014 i.e a delay of 83 months as against the 6 months in the concession agreement.

The underground utilities were not mapped and at many places it shifting was risky. MMOPL in the reply claimed that in order to save time and expedite the construction the foundation design had increase from 11 types to 219.

The station too had to undergo design change. For example, at Jagruti Nagar the station had to be totally redesigned because of the road was not made and even the earthy filling works were not done.

MMOPL also claimed that construction methodology had to changes in favour of cast-in-situ girder as against the pre-cast girders due to delay in providing of Right of Way on Andheri-Ghatkopar Link Road.
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Monday, 8 June 2015

09:09

With a Ridership of over 26K Commuters per Km per day, Mumbai Metro is now world’s 8th most dense Metro Rail

With a Ridership of over 26K Commuters per Km per day, Mumbai Metro is now world’s 8th most dense Metro Rail

Mumbai: With a ridership of over 26,000 commuters per kilometre daily, Mumbai’s first Metro in its one year of operation has already become the eighth most dense Metro rail corridor in the world, shows data collected by the Metro operator.

In the one year that it has been in operation, 9.2 crore commuters have used the elevated Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar Metro, which was thrown open to public on June 8 last year. Till May end, the Metro line had run 13 lakh kilometres, having made 1.12 lakh trips. The corridor, which at present operates with a Rs 10-40 tariff, was launched on a highly controversial note last year with the state government and the Reliance Infrastructure-led Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd (MMOPL) in a tussle over the fare structure of the project, implemented on a public-private partnership basis.

According to MMOPL data, the density on the 11.4-km Metro, with about 2.5 lakh passengers a day, is more than that on the Hong Kong MTR Metro and the Manila Metro Rail Transit System. The Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar has an average daily ridership of 26,316 per kilometre as against 25,744 on the Manila Metro and 25,092 on the Hong Kong Metro.

According to MMOPL’s information the 4.1-km Minatomirai Line in Japan’s Yokohama is the world’s densest Metro rail corridor with an average per kilometre daily ridership of 1.07 lakh commuters, followed by the 7.6-km Kobe Rapid Transit Railway in Japan and the 195.1-km Tokyo Metro.

Abhay Kumar Mishra, chief executive at MMOPL, said, “In the next three to four years, the Metro can be among the top three densest Metro corridors. Accommodating a surge in ridership will not be difficult as the Metro has been constructed with a maximum capacity of 11 lakh commuters.”

The MMOPL, which had constructed and now operates the Metro, has engaged about 900 employees in assisting commuters and managing crowd.

The consortium spends about Rs 1 crore per day, equally divided between operating and maintaining the Metro and servicing loans for the project, the cost of which escalated to Rs 4,321 crore from the original Rs 2,356 crore. With about 55 per cent of commuters using smart cards, the Metro’s fare box collection is aboutRs 10 crore every month on an average.

MMOPL looks to enhance non-fare revenue

The MMOPL has put proposals before the government-appointed Fare Fixation Committee, which is at present reviewing the Metro tariff, to increase the non-fare revenue of the Metro system. Enhancing the non-fare revenue, which refers to earnings from activities apart from ticketing, could help lower Metro tariff. “We are looking at increasing non-fare revenue and have made proposals to the Fare Fixation Committee for the same,” Mishra said.  At present, only about 8 per cent of MMOPL’s total revenue comes from advertising and commercial use of spaces. According to MMOPL, the company has earned Rs 5.6 crore from the sale, lease and renting of stalls at Metro stations.
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