On May 11th, 2022, the European Union Ambassador to India H.E Mr. Ugo Astuto visited the Phugewadi office of the Pune Metro and reviewed the work progress of the project. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has provided substantial funding for the Pune Metro project, because of their generous support, 74% of the Pune Metro work is completed as of date. The Officials of the European Investment Bank (EIB) regularly visit the Pune Metro for getting first-hand information about the project and visit by H.E. Mr. Ugo Astuto to the Pune Metro will further strengthen the ties between the Pune Metro and the European Union.
More details:
- The Ambassador of the European Union reviewed the work of Pune Metro at the Phugewadi office this morning. Shri. Atul Gadgil, Director (Work) and Shri. Vinod Agarwal, Director (Operations) briefed the Ambassador on the current progress of the metro project. The presentation was followed by the metro ride.
- H.E. Mr. Ugo Astuto, Ambassador, European Union, Ms. Renita Bhaskar, Minister-Counselor, Head of Trade and Economic Affairs, European Union, and accompanying them were various officials of Pune Metro travelled by Metro from Phugewadi Station to Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Station and from Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Station to Sant Tukaram Nagar Station.
H.E. Ugo Astuto, the European Union Ambassador to India said, “Let me thank the Pune Metro for this very interesting visit. I am very happy that we are associated with this project which is greener, safer, and more sustainable public transport. The European Union and India are working together in the fight against climate change and for sustainable urbanization, including the development of “green” public transport. The European Investment Bank (EIB), the EU bank, has invested over 2.1 billion euros in six urban rail projects across India. Pune is one of these and I am very happy to be here today and see with my own eyes the progress on the metro line. The new metro will offer a safe, green, and affordable alternative to other means of transport, reducing pollution, and traffic and allowing for faster and affordable commuting, with easier access to the workplace, healthcare facilities, or school.”
On the occasion of the visit of his excellence, the Managing Director, Maha Metro, Dr. Brijesh Dixit said,” I am thankful to the European Union for their support, and because of their generous support, we were able to speed up the project. We look forward to furthering association and continuous support from the European Union. The EIB has committed to invest EUR 600 million in the construction of two new lines of the Pune metro rail and in the acquisition of 102 modern metro cars, singing to date EUR 350 m. The Pune metro system will have 33.2 km of tracks, both over and underground, with 30 stations, and increase the coverage of the public city transport network. Once completed, the Pune metro rail will create 900 new jobs and allow around 600,000 safe, affordable, punctual, and fast commutes each day. The new metro rail system will also reduce commuting hours for more than six million people living in the city. To date, the EIB has invested €2.2bn in six urban rail projects (Pune (€350m), Bangalore (€500m), Kanpur (€350m), Lucknow (€450m), Bhopal (€250m), and most recently Agra (€250m).
Source: Pune Metro- Press Release
