The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has begun diverting utility services ahead of a formal start of tunnelling on the main city centre section of the US$1.9 billion project.
Telephone cables, water mains and sewer pipes between Delhi University and the Inter-State Bus Terminal (ISBT) are being re-routed before tunnelling begins for the 4km underground section.
The Metro Corporation has carried out an extensive survey to assess the condition of buildings along the route of the railway which passes underneath densely populated areas including Civil Lines, Connaught Place and Patel Chowk.
Extensive computer modelling has also been done to forecast the level of vibration during construction. Tunnelling will be carried out using a TBM .
Technical and financial offers for this segment are being assessed from a raft of contracting groups including Kumagai Gumi of Japan, Samsung and Hyundai of South Korea, Necso of Spain and Impregilo of Italy.
Once work starts by the end of this year completion is scheduled for March 2005.The downtown segment forms part of an 11km long underground section that continues from ISBT to Central Secretariat. Just two contracting groups -Kajima of Japan and Dyckerhoff & Widmann – are believed to be bidding for this latter deal.
