The CEO of Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB), Amar Nath, who is also the nodal officer for the Mass Rapid Transport System (MRTS) for Chandigarh, had been to Mumbai to study the PPP model.

“The metro rail in Chandigarh is still at a conceptual stage. Mumbai will begin with the project soon and follow the PPP model. Projects on the PPP model are being encouraged in the states by the government of India,” Nath told Newsline.

At Mumbai, a consortium led by Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group’s Reliance Energy Ltd (REL), which includes Connex and Hong Kong MTR Corporation together with Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), have bagged the contract for the Rs 2,356 crore Phase-I of the Mumbai Metro Rail project.

The phase I in Mumbai is being constructed on a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer basis for a period of 35 years.

Under the model, MMRDA would hold 26 per cent equity. This is unlike Delhi where the work has been executed by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.

Meanwhile, the metro rail for the Chandigarh urban complex would start moving after the detailed project report (DPR) by the UT and the neighbouring states is prepared after which the final nod from the ministry would come. RITES consultants are likely to be given the task of preparing the DPR.