Nearly a year after Maharashtra‘s cabinet greenlit the project, Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited has taken the first concrete step toward building the 6.9-kilometre Metro Line 11 extension from Bandra Terminus to Anik Depot, floating a tender to map everything buried under the route before a single pillar goes up.
The underground utility survey, for which MMRC invited sealed quotations on May 18, marks the beginning of pre-construction groundwork on a corridor that will cut through some of Mumbai’s most densely packed neighbourhoods, including Dharavi.
The appointed agency will use Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) technology to scan up to five metres below the surface across the entire 6.9-kilometre alignment and an eight-hectare depot area at Anik. Every pipe, duct, and cable in the ground needs to be located, identified, and mapped before excavation machinery moves in.
What the survey involves
The selected agency must identify and map RCC and metallic pipelines, sewer and water mains, gas, petroleum and chemical lines, high and low voltage power cables, and telecommunication infrastructure along the route.
They will also need to coordinate with the BMC, MMRDA, Slum Rehabilitation Authority, and Indian Railways to collect as-built drawings and obstacle data from each organisation.
Final deliverables include AutoCAD drawings with coordinates, cross-sectional plans for major structures, colour hardcopy reports, and a detailed methodology document. The entire exercise must be wrapped up within a month of the appointment, with bids due by June 1.
The corridor and what it connects
Metro Line 11 is envisioned as an underground corridor running from Wadala to the Gateway of India, passing through Dharavi, Bandra, and Bandra Terminus. The extension that MMRC is now preparing for, Bandra Terminus to Anik Depot via Dharavi, spans 6.9 kilometres and will serve stations at Bandra, Central Dharavi, Sion, Chunabhatti, and Anik Depot.
The Maharashtra government directed MMRC to take up this extension in March, as part of a broader push to integrate the Dharavi redevelopment zone with the city’s metro network.
The numbers behind it
The full Metro 11 project carries a price tag of Rs 23,487 crore, as stated in the 2026-27 Maharashtra state budget. The state and central governments will each put in Rs 3,137 crore, while the BMC and Mumbai Port Authority contribute Rs 2,411 crore and Rs 804 crore, respectively. The remaining Rs 12,163 crore will come through institutional loans.
Cabinet approval came in September 2025. Construction on the ground is expected to begin in 2027.