The Maharashtra Cabinet, in a major boost to the Mumbai-Pune Hyperloop project, has approved appointment of DP World and Hyperloop Technologies as its Original Project Proponent (OPP). The hyperloop, once ready, will reduce travel time between Mumbai and Pune to just 30 minutes. The cabinet also decided to grant ‘public infrastructure’ status to the project, helping it gain easier access to funds and concessions. The project will be implemented in two phases — Phase-I involves laying of a test track on an 11.4 km corridor from Gahunje to Ozarde, and in Phase-II, the final 117.5 km track will be constructed. About 150 million people are expected to use the hyperloop annually. The project involves a direct foreign investment (FDI) of Rs 70,000 crore. The Mumbai-Pune Hyperloop project will take seven years for completion. In the first phase of the project, the Hyperloop train will be run on a pilot basis for a distance of 11.8 km in the Pune Metropolitan region at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore.