EIB gives consent to loan disbursal for priority corridor

European Investment Bank (EIB) has given its consent to disburse loan for Agra Metro project and paved the way for initiating tendering process for the proposed underground section of the priority corridor. The underground section of priority corridor of Agra Metro includes Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Jama Masjid metro stations. The casting of u-girders for Agra Metro Rail project in Agra began in the presence of the Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC) MD, 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. This 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 shortly.

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. 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. A total of 196 u-girders will be used for the elevated stretch of the priority corridor between Taj East Gate & Fatehabad Road. In just 7 months since launching the project, 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.