That's what the Delhi Metro is now saying.
Yes they are making a profit on day to day operations, but there is a small matter of 16,000 crores that they borrowed for the first two phases of construction.
And how does it propose to do so ? DMRC argues that the only way forward is to follow the Hong Kong model where the metro authorities were allowed to develop real estate on either side of the metro line. This is the only metro system in the world that is running on profit.
But the Delhi Development Authority does not agree since this would throw the master plan in a disarray and would only benefit the builder lobby. Planners point out that this would lead to unplanned commercial centres that may not be viable.
I guess the lesson for other cities in India is to figure out how they will be able to pay for the Metro before they build it.
In the meantime DMRC is now competing with the Railways. At Dwarka a train slipped off its tracks. Maybe the are trying to get Mamta's attention.
1 comment:
hey, the bandra kurla sea link is an outstanding example of town planning failure..it was built at a huge cost, is used by a miniscule percentage of the population, who enjoy the thrill of a few minutes of hassel free ride only to descend into chaos at both ends...and they wont even allow buses on it..
so the metro in delhi is far better..at least a lot of people use it.
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