For the first time perhaps, the Delhi Metro Railways Corporation (DMRC) has gone in for a lease contract for lifts and escalators on a Public-Private partnership basis.
It has just inked a contract with Johnson Lifts Pvt. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of lifts and escalators.
Under the contract, Johnson Lifts will provide 179 lifts and 323 escalators manufactured from factories at Oragadam and Sengadu in Tamil Nadu.
Johnson Lifts will design, supply, commission and maintain the lifts and escalators for 15 years. The escalators will be 65% indigenised, which is a first in India for heavy-duty escalators. Usually, for heavy-duty applications, the practice by Metro agencies has been to import escalators.
This contract will give a further boost to the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Modi Government.
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The contract is for the three priority corridors in the Phase -IV expansion of the Delhi Metro.
It involves the procurement of lifts and which are to be commissioned across these corridors. This will cover a distance of 65 KM and comprise 45 metro stations.
The lifts will have a carrying capacity of around 20 commuters at a time as compared to earlier phases where the carrying capacity was between 8 and 13 passengers. CCTV cameras will also be installed inside the lifts for the first time in the Phase-IV expansion for enhanced safety.
“We will initially bear the entire cost for design, manufacturing, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of the lifts and escalators and will maintain them for a period of 15 years. DMRC will release monthly payments of lease and maintenance charges once these lifts and escalators become operational, ’’ said John K. John, Chairman & Managing Director, Johnson Lifts
The contract was signed today.
Established in 1963, Johnson Lifts has been the pioneer in this field, with over 9,000 employees and an annual turnover of over Rs. 2,000 crore. Johnson Lifts has four manufacturing units in India for lifts and escalators, and has been associated in 16 major metro rail works to provide 1,800+ lifts and 2,400+ escalators.
