Mumbai:

A delegation of members of the House of Councillors of Japan, the upper house of the country’s national legislature, on Sunday, visited the BKC station of Metro Line-3 and took a ride from there to Marol Naka station.

Japan has funded about 57 per cent of the cost of the 33.5 km-long underground corridor – Aqua Line.

The delegation led by Kazuhiko AOKI was received by S K Gupta, director (projects), R Ramana, director (planning) and Rajeev, director (systems) of the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC), a release said.

The delegation was briefed about the project, its progress, construction challenges and how Metro Line-3 will emerge as a “game changer” for India’s commercial capital by connecting the unconnected parts of the city besides easing the transportation woes of Mumbaikars, it said.

The members then took a train ride from BKC to Marol Naka station of Metro Line-3 during their visit, the MMRC said in the release.

The Japanese lawmakers appreciated that the Official Development Assistance (ODA) has been “gainfully utilized by MMRC” as Metro Line-3 will help increase mobility grant easy access to slum areas and change the way Mumbaikars travel, the release said.

The Japanese government has provided ODA in the form of a JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) loan of Rs 21,280 crore (57.09 per cent of the project cost), it said.

MMRC said the project is in the final stages of commissioning its Phase-I from Aarey to BKC. The underground metro line spans across 27 stations from Aarey JVLR to Cuffe Parade and passes through prominent locations in the city like BKC, Airport Terminal-1 and Terminal-2, Worli, Dadar, Siddhivinayak, CSMT, Churchgate, Hutatma Chowk and Vidhan Bhavan, the release added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)