Noida: Public Investment Board (PIB) has cleared the proposed 8.4-km Greater Noida West metro line extension on Wednesday. PIB clearance is the penultimate stage before the project can receive Union Cabinet approval. The Noida Sector 51 to Greater Noida West Sector 4 corridor, comprising five stations, will be completed in four years at Rs 2,000 crore.The investment board is an interministerial body that examines and appraises major public investment proposals before they are placed before the Cabinet. The PIB meeting is one of the most critical approvals for metro projects as it examines the project’s viability, assesses total project cost, funding pattern, cost-benefit analysis and expected ridership.“The PIB will share the minutes of the meeting in a week. The project will then be sent to the Cabinet for final approval,” said Pradeep Yadav, general manager (projects), NMRC.Once the Cabinet nod is granted, a tender will be issued to hire a developer.Officials said the corridor is expected to significantly improve commuting, especially for residents who currently depend on road transport through the heavily congested Gaur Chowk. The five stations on the proposed corridor will be Sector 61, Sector 70, Sector 122, Sector 123 and Greater Noida Sector 4 (Gaur Chowk).Residents welcomed this development, noting that Greater Noida West has a large population that is desperately in need of better connectivity.Gaur Chowk, a key traffic junction in Greater Noida West, caters to over five lakh residents and sees heavy traffic from Noida, Surajpur, Crossings Republik and the Delhi-Meerut Expressway. Commuters in the area rely heavily on personal vehicles in the absence of a robust public transport system. Traffic movement crawls along the stretch during rush hour daily.“Two years ago, the officials also claimed that the govt approved the project, and the work would start soon. However, the project was delayed for years. The PIB nod is a good move, but we want the govt to clear this project and start the construction work,” said Manish Kumar, a resident of Supertech Eco Village.In 2024, the UP govt approved an initial alignment for an 18-km track linking Delhi Metro’s Sector 61 station on the Blue Line to Knowledge Park V in Greater Noida via Sector 70, Sector 122, Sector 123, Greater Noida Sector 4, Ecotech 12, Greater Noida Sector 2, Sector 3, Sector 10 and Sector 12.The ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA), however, withheld approval pending a decision on a proposed 72-km Ghaziabad-Jewar rapid rail corridor via Greater Noida West. NMRC later revised the detailed project report.In Feb this year, the Centre approved an Aqua Line extension from Sector 142 to Botanical Garden, and a second arm linking the Depot-Boraki route. NMRC is in the process of hiring developers for the two projects.The Aqua Line metro connects Noida’s Sector 51 to Depot Station in Greater Noida and records an average daily ridership of around 60,705 passengers, as per June 2026 data.
