The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) could face an additional financial burden of around Rs 250 crore over a design-related issue on the Metro 7A corridor, officials familiar with the matter said.
The issue concerns the Airport Colony metro station, viaducts and ramp, which were found to be exceeding height limits prescribed for the aircraft movement path, or air funnel, linked to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has yet to respond to MMRDA’s request seeking relaxation of the restrictions.
Officials fear that if the request is rejected, portions of the station and related infrastructure may have to be dismantled and rebuilt to comply with aviation safety requirements.
The 3.42-km Metro 7A corridor will connect Terminal 2 of the airport with Mira-Bhayandar and South Mumbai through the underground Metro 3 corridor. J Kumar Infraprojects is executing the partly elevated and partly underground project, with Systra MVA Consulting serving as general consultant.
MMRDA initially sought AAI clearance for the Airport Colony station and ramp in November 2023. While approval was granted on January 2, 2024, the permitted height was 2.9 metres below the project’s design requirement.
“This restriction immediately caused delays as construction could not proceed in this section without complying with the height limitation. MMRDA was forced to halt work in the affected areas, which began to disrupt the overall project timeline,” said an internal document accessed.
A subsequent request for clearance for the viaduct was made on January 31, 2024. The AAI issued an NOC on March 18, restricting the viaduct height to between 0.53 and 2.75 metres, again below the requirement for metro operations.
The MMRDA document stated that the Airport Colony station had been “designed without referring to the contents of the NOC and the drawings were also issued with a higher height.”
MMRDA later sought a relaxation, citing engineering difficulties in modifying the alignment and maintaining the required ramp gradient.
The Metro 7A project currently costs Rs 812 crore. Officials estimate that rejection of the relaxation could push expenses up by nearly Rs 250 crore due to demolition and reconstruction.
The development could also affect MMRDA’s financial projections for 2026-27. The authority had reported revised losses of Rs 997 crore for 2025-26.
CMRS approval for Metro 4, 4A
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS) has cleared the rolling stock for Metro 4 and 4A, nearly a year after trial runs were flagged off. MMRDA and Maha Mumbai Metro Operation Corporation Limited are now working to secure safety clearance for the systems and corridors by early October.
Source: Hindustan Times
