Kanpur, May 30, 2025.
Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated a 5-kilometre stretch of the underground Kanpur Metro. Of this, one completed station—Kanpur Central Metro Station—and 2.4 kilometre of tunnelling have been executed by infrastructure major M/s Afcons Infrastructure Ltd.
Afcons-led consortium is executing the KNPCC-06 package, which was awarded on March 14, 2022. The project includes design and construction of a 3.826 kilometre underground stretch comprising three metro stations: Kanpur Central, Jhakarkatti, and Transport Nagar, two twin tunnels bored using two shield Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs), with others.
Tunnelling along this stretch posed significant challenges due to the presence of dilapidated buildings. However, Afcons successfully navigated these complexities and completed the tunnelling work safely and efficiently.
Construction of Kanpur Central Station, which began in December 2022, and the tunnelling works between Kanpur Central and Nawabganj, initiated in August 2023, have both been completed.
Afcons, which has been associated with Kanpur Metro since its early phases, was previously responsible for the Priority Section under package KNPCC-02. This package included an elevated viaduct and nine elevated stations from IIT Kanpur to Motijheel. Afcons completed this section in record time despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The section was commissioned and opened to the public in June 2021.
Afcons is a leader in metro construction in India, with a presence in over 10 cities. The company has executed and delivered complex projects, including India’s first underwater tunnel in Kolkata, the country’s first four-layer transportation system, a 5.6 kilometre double-decker viaduct for the Nagpur Metro, and one of the largest underground metro stations in India.
