01Background
The corridor linking Curepipe to Port Louis is one of the most congested in the country. A light rail project had been discussed for decades without ever coming to fruition. When he took office in December 2014, Nando Bodha inherited a long-standing light rail project on which Rs 539 million had already been spent, including Rs 412 million on consultancy.
02Objectives
To provide modern, reliable and accessible mass transit between the towns of Plaines Wilhems and the capital, as part of a "three-tier" mobility system: the existing road network, the decongestion programme and light rail.
03Results
Metro Express Ltd incorporated in October 2016; design-and-build contract signed with Larsen & Toubro on 31 July 2017 for Rs 18.8 billion, of which Rs 9.9 billion financed by a grant from the Government of India; foundation stone laid on 28 September 2017; eighteen trainsets ordered; Light Rail Act passed in 2019, and a bill tabled to create the National Land Transport Authority, a single regulator for road and rail transport. The first phase, from Port Louis to Rose Hill, was inaugurated on 3 October 2019 by Pravind Jugnauth and Narendra Modi; commercial service began on 10 January 2020.
04Impact
Mauritius once again has a passenger rail network, its first since 1956. The Metro Express is also the first metro built outside India by an Indian company. Since extended to Curepipe, it carries tens of thousands of passengers every day.