The consortium of TRIL Urban Transport (a Tata Group Company), and Siemens Project Ventures GmbH (subsidiary of Siemens Financial Services), has been awarded the contract by the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority to develop the metro corridor from Hinjewadi to Shivajinagar. Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, handed over the Letter of Award to the consortium at a ceremony held in Mumbai, in the presence of N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons, along with government officials and other senior leaders from Siemens and Tata. The elevated metro Line-3 will originate from Hinjewadi Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park, and travel via Balewadi to Shivajinagar. Hinjewadi is Pune’s fastest growing IT industrial hub providing employment to over 400,000 people. The 23.3 km corridor with 23 stations will be the first metro project in India on public-private partnership (PPP) model after the New Metro Rail Policy of 2017. The construction is scheduled to commence by June 2019 and completed within a time span of three years. Tata Projects will be the EPC partner supporting the consortium. Banmali Agrawala, President, Infrastructure, Defence and Aerospace, Tata Sons, said, “This project is a true representation of our expertise and capabilities of delivering on long-term and large infrastructure projects. With the support of our partners, we are confident of meeting the expectations and requirements of the project as per the scheduled timelines.” He believes that the Pune metro will significantly transform the way people of Pune will commute in the future and will also bring in economic benefits and employment along the route. Sunil Mathur, Managing Director and CEO, Siemens, said, “Siemens has been partnering with India for over 150 years in the areas of electrification and automation. It has been contributing to India's long-term growth story through its sustainable technologies, deep solution expertise, global project experience and strong local manufacturing presence.” He further expressed, “We are delighted to be a consortium partner with Tata Group in implementing this project, which will positively impact the quality of life for the people of Pune.” Siemens Financial Services (SFS) invests in infrastructure projects around the world, with great potential in India. Through PPPs, SFS is able to help cities meet their goals of obtaining intelligent infrastructure solutions and enable smarter, more sustainable transportation networks.