DMRC prefers R-Infra for extension project

Mangu Singh, Managing Director of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said he preferred Reliance Infrastructure to be the concessionaire for the extension of the high-speed corridor till Gurgaon.

However, R-Infra, which is a concessionaire for the Airport Metro Express, expressed its wish to bow out of the agreement. Singh said DMRC would go through a transparent international bidding process to select a concessionaire for the extension project.

The 12 km extension line is intended to reduce travel time from Dwarka to Gurgaon to as little as 12-14 minutes. The project received preliminary approval earlier last year and completion of the link is expected by 2016. The stations proposed were Palam Vihar station and Maruti Udyog station.

However, the closure of the Delhi Airport Metro Express is expected to delay indefinitely the high-speed corridor's extension to the Millennium City.

The new link would have been the second Metro corridor to enter Gurgaon. The existing line 2 (HUDA city center-Jehangirpuri) already carries over six lakh passengers everyday.

Meanwhile, the date for the safety audit of the Airport Metro is still awaited. The documents have been sent to the chief of metro rail safety, reports suggest.