The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project may face a delay due to issues such as disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic to low participation by Japanese companies and tenders cancelled because of steep rates quoted by bidders. The project was scheduled to be completed by December 2023.
The National High-Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRCL) has already acquired 63 per cent of the land for the project — about 77% land in Gujarat, 80% in Dadar Nagar Haveli and 22% in Maharashtra. However, there are still issues in acquiring land in areas like Palghar in Maharashtra and Navsari in Gujarat.
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“Because of COVID we had to postpone the opening of a few of the tenders. It is difficult to assess the impact of the pandemic on the project as it is still continuing. We cannot say how the pandemic will affect the project as I don’t know how long it will last,” NHSRCL MD Achal Khare said.
The authorities have already initiated the works related to utility diversion and the construction of Sabarmati passenger hub (a multi-modal hub). The hostel building of the High-Speed Training Institute (which is presently being used for COVID-19 patients) and training tracks in Vadodara are also completed.
The 508.17-kilometer long network will pass through three districts in Maharashtra (Mumbai, Thane, and Palghar) and eight districts in Gujarat (Valsad, Navsari, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Kheda, and Ahmedabad).
Apart from land acquisition, another major cause for the delay could be cost escalation owing to a fall in the rupee against the Japanese yen.
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The total cost of the project is pegged at Rs 1.08 lakh crore and as per the shareholding pattern, the Government of India is to pay Rs 10,000 crore to the NHSRCL, while the two states involved, Gujarat and Maharashtra, are to pay Rs 5,000 crore each. The rest is to be paid by Japan through a loan at 0.1 percent interest.
