News Brief
Construction Halted On Mumbai Metro 7A After Air Funnel Zone Breach, AAI Nod Awaited
Mumbai Metro (Representative image)
The Mumbai Metro 7A project, intended to link Gundavali to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, has run into trouble, as work on it has been put on hold due to height regulations by the Airport Authority of India (AAI), Hindustan times reported.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has now approached AAI with a revised clearance request after finding that a general consultant had breached the airport body's permission on the air funnel zone.
An air funnel zone is a planned flight route for aircraft to ensure safe landing and take-off. Any kind of obstruction in this area can be a big threat to the safety of aviation.
The 3.42-km Metro 7A corridor, partially elevated and partially underground, is being constructed by J Kumar Infraprojects Ltd. For the general consultancy service, Systra India and Consulting Engineers Group Ltd have formed a consortium called Systra MVA Consulting.
MMRDA had first sought clearance from AAI back in November 2023 for construction of the Airport Colony station and ramp area to go ahead.
The clearance, issued on 2 January 2024, was 2.9 metres lower than the project’s design requirement.
“This restriction immediately caused delays, as construction could not proceed in this section of the project without compliance with the height limitation. MMRDA was forced to halt work in the affected areas, which began to disrupt the overall project timeline,” states an internal document accessed by Hindustan Times.
On 31 January 2024, the MMRDA applied for an additional height clearance for the viaduct between the Airport Colony station and the ramp.
MMRDA has approached AAI for relaxation of these restrictions on the grounds that it is impossible to change the metro's height because of the engineering issue of keeping the ramp on a constant gradient.
An MMRDA official said that they are still waiting for a revised sanction from AAI.
The crisis is being blamed on a general consultant's oversight, which was made known in internal communications of MMRDA.
“The station was designed without referring to the contents of the NOC, and the drawings were also issued with higher height... The initial failure was on the General Consultant’s part, as the permissible limits issued by AAI were to be referred to by the experts of the General Consultant before finalising of the Airport Colony station architectural design," the internal note was quoted as saying by HT.
The postponements have adversely affected not just the timeline of the project but also the cost.
Initially, the project was scheduled to be ready by 2021, but the deadline continues to be regularly revised, the latest one being December 2026 at an estimated cost of Rs 812 crore.
The delay has also increased passenger inconvenience, with last-mile connectivity to the airport still poor, even though Mumbai Metro 3 has reached the airport.
