EIB to fund Agra metro rail project: UPMRC
AGRA: European Investment Bank (EIB) has given its consent to disburse loan for Agra Metro and thus paving way for tendering process for the proposed underground section of the priority corridor that is expected to commence shortly.
The underground section of ‘priority corridor’ of Agra Metro includes Tajmahal, Agra Fort and Jama Masjid metro stations.
Casting of u-girders for Agra Metro Rail project in Agra began on Wednesday in presence of managing director of Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC) Kumar Keshav who inaugurated casting at Bamrauli Katara Casting Yard in Agra.
“European Investment Bank (EIB) which granted loans for the metro rail projects in Lucknow and Kanpur previously, has approved the loan process for the Agra Metro project also,” Keshav said.
“This also means that the tendering process for the proposed underground section of the priority corridor would commence shortly and the civil construction for the underground section will also begin very soon” he said.
After a brief pooja (prayer ceremony) the UPMRC also commenced the casting of u-girders.
U-girder is a platform that is prepared and placed on top of the piers (pillars) of the viaduct, on which the metro track is laid and is called a u-girder.
These girders are pre-casted or prefabricated in the casting yard and are then placed with a crane over the pillars at a fixed time (at night) due to safety reasons.
Keshav said, “The Agra Metro Project was virtually inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the presence of UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath on December 7, 2020. In just 7 months since its inauguration, Agra Metro Project team has completed 553 piles, 100 pile caps and 64 piers for the elevated section of the priority stretch of the 29.4 km long first corridor, which runs from Taj East Gate to Sikandara.”