Mumbai transit upgrade to cost $50bn: Study

An investment of around $50 billion i.e. around Rs 20,000 crore will be required in various transit systems in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) over next 20 years to cater to the needs of a burgeoning population of Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) which will reach 34 million by 2031, says a study conducted by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

This was revealed by PRK Murthy chief of MMRDA's transport and communication division at an interactive session organised by the Mumbai SEZ developers' chairman Anand Jain featuring a delegation of various US government agencies working in public transit systems and various corporate organisation, as well as state and central government agencies.

The US delegation was led by Sherry Little, deputy administrator of Federal Transit Administration.

Little assured those present of the US government's complete cooperation in making financial and technological assistance available for various transport projects in MMR.

To deal with the huge challenge of meeting transport requirements of an estimated 34 million people, 450 kilometers of Metro rail network, new suburban lines of 104 km and new road road length of 1513 km needs to be created, the study says.

The study also recommends public private partnership (PPP) for carrying out these projects and suggests funding pattern of 40%  from private sector, 28% from users, 10% from the state government - which in turn be mobilised by the state government as development charge from builders and developers - and 12% borrowings.