The new metro line connecting Millennium City Centre with Cyber City is unlikely to meet its 2029 completion target. With the civil construction tender for Sector 9-Cyber City stretch yet to be invited, the delay has left little room for a project that will take around four years to construct, test and commission after the contract is awarded.

The project is being taken up in two phases. While work on the 15.3km Phase-I corridor between Millennium City Centre and Sector 9 has started after the contract was awarded in Aug last year and is scheduled to be completed by 2028, Phase-II — the section that will take the metro from Sector 9 to Cyber City-is yet to enter the construction stage.

A person who is familiar with the project said World Bank completed its scrutiny of the Phase-II tender documents towards the end of July and the file was subsequently sent to Haryana govt. However, it has remained pending with the state govt since then.

The delay is particularly significant because even after the tender is invited, selecting the contractor is expected to take at least three to four months. Construction would then take around two-and-a-half years, followed by nearly a year for testing and commissioning.

In effect, the project could require roughly four years from the date of tendering to commissioning. Every month lost before the tender is awarded is likely to reduce the time available for construction and testing.

“The tender finalisation itself takes a minimum of four months if not more. After that, the construction period would be around two-and-a-half years. Testing and commissioning would take at least another year as the track, signalling and traction systems have to be installed and trains have to undergo trials at different speeds,” a person familiar with the project said.

This leaves the project with little cushion in its timeline. Any further delay in clearing or awarding the Phase-II tender would push back the start of construction and make completion of the entire corridor before the 2029 Haryana assembly election increasingly difficult.

Gurgaon metro project is now being monitored at PMO level. Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pulled up govt over the delay in metro project and asked chief secretary to take “ownership” of the project and ensure its speedy execution.

Although GMRL is still pursuing the 2029 target, timely decisions and the removal of unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles will be crucial to speeding up the process and keeping the deadline within reach.

“The construction of the priority-1 corridor is undergoing steadily and we will float the tender for civil construction of the priority-2 once we get the approval. We are hoping to meet the target of 2029,” the GMRL official said.

The metro project has also gone through changes in its financing arrangement, which contributed to delays in the earlier stages.

According to GMRL, the initial portion of the project was funded through govt. For the subsequent phase, funding was to involve an international lender, requiring the project documents and procurement process to undergo additional scrutiny.

World Bank subsequently became part of the funding arrangement. Earlier, European Investment Bank had withdrawn from the process, following which KfW (a leading German state-owned promotional and development bank) was brought into the financing arrangement.

The delay has also coincided with a change of guard at GMRL, with MD Chandra Shekhar Khare transferred and Mukul Kumar appointed as his replacement. The leadership change comes at a crucial stage, with the Phase-II tender still awaiting clearance and the 2029 completion target already under pressure. Even the tender for the depot construction, estimated to cost Rs 409 crore, is yet to be allotted.