The Delhi Metro Project: Effective Project Management in the Indian Public Sector
|
Case Code: PROM005 Case Length: 21 Pages Period: 1998-2006 Pub Date: 2006 Teaching Note: Not Available |
Price: Rs.400 Organization: DMRC Industry: Construction Countries: India Themes: Project Management |
Abstract Case Intro 1 Case Intro 2 Excerpts
Excerpts
The Delhi Metro Project
n order to implement the Delhi Metro project, the GoI and the GNCTD set up a 50:50 joint venture company called the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (DMRC). The company was incorporated under the Companies Act in May 1995. The DMRC was to complete Phase I of the project within 10 years, i.e., by the end of 2005...
Funding the Project
Globally, most urban MRTS projects were financially unviable because the fares could not be fixed solely on a commercial basis. If the fares were fixed too high, the passenger numbers would remain low, thereby defeating the very purpose of setting up the system. Therefore, the concerned governments generally bore the capital costs of an MRTS system. In the case of the Delhi Metro project too, the GoI and the GNCTD bore the capital costs. The total cost of the first phase of the project was initially estimated at Rs. 60 billion, at April 1996 prices. Later in 2002, with the cost of the project rising by approximately 10% per year, the estimate was revised to Rs. 89.27 billion...
The Project Team
With the funding for the project being finalized, the next step was to constitute a project team. Sreedharan was appointed as project manager and managing director of the DMRC in November 1997. A technocrat, he had had a long stint in the Indian Railways (IR) and had retired in 1990. During his service with IR, he had earned a reputation for completing major projects on time and within the budget...
Planning the Project
In India, major infrastructure projects are often stalled because of a lack of funds, political interference, lack of professionalism and accountability, property disputes, corruption, etc. Therefore, even before the commencement of the project, the DMRC attempted to put in place effective systems to ensure the smooth progress of the project.
Funding was not an issue in the case of the Delhi Metro project because it was settled even before the project commenced. In order to steer clear of political interference, the DMRC sought autonomy on all major matters and the GoI promised to give it this autonomy. "Financial powers were vested in the managing director. Also, the managing director was the last authority on tenders," said Anuj Dayal (Dayal), chief public relations officer, DMRC...
Project Implementation
Construction work on the project commenced on October 1, 1998. The entire project was divided into three lines. Further, these lines were divided into sections.
Line 1 (Shahdara to Rithala)
The work on Phase I commenced with the Shahdara-Tis Hazari section of Line 1, covering a distance of about eight kilometers. The work involved utility diversions, barricading, and actual civil construction. A major part of this section was on elevated tracks. All tracks in the elevated corridor were laid on concrete (ballastless). The tracks were supported on single piers...
Managing the Stakeholders in the Project
Effective project management involved not only completing the project on schedule and within the budget, but also managing the project's stakeholders. The stakeholders included the governments, the contractors, the funding agencies, and the general public. Despite assurances that the DMRC would enjoy autonomy, it faced political pressure not only in its recruitment processes, promotions, and contract awarding but also in land acquisition...
Project Evaluation
The successful completion of the project effectively silenced the critics who had been skeptical about the ability of an Indian public sector organization to complete any project, let alone one as complex and costly as the Delhi Metro, on time and within the budget...
Outlook
The Delhi Metro was expected to play a major role in relieving the transport problems faced by the city's residents. Moreover, with the GoI planning extensions to the Metro, it appeared that the benefits of an efficient transport system would be enjoyed by people living in a wider geographical area than originally planned. The GoI and the GNTCD had prepared a comprehensive plan to extend the Delhi Metro to 244 km by 2021 in three subsequent phases (Refer Exhibit VI for more information about the Delhi Metro project by 2021)....
Exhibits
Exhibit I: Some Metro Systems around the World
Exhibit II: Studies on Delhi's Traffic Problems
Exhibit III: Outstanding Features of the Delhi Metro
Exhibit IV: Companies Involved in the Project
Exhibit V: Tunneling Process of a Part of Line 2 of Delhi Metro
Exhibit VI: The Delhi Metro Project by 2021
Exhibit VII: Approved Budget 2006-2007
Exhibit VIII: Operational Aspects of the Delhi Metro Project Phase I
Buy this case study (Please select any one of the payment options)
| Price: Rs.400 |
Price: Rs.400 | PayPal (9 USD) |
