Gurgaon (Haryana), Aug 11 - The Gurgaon Metro rail, the country's first Metro rail project to be built and operated by a private company, will be operational by the middle of 2012, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said Tuesday.

'This 6.1-kilometre Gurgaon Metro rail will be operational by mid-2012. It would join Gurgaon with New Delhi through Delhi-Gurgaon Metro link which would start in 2010,' Hooda announced at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the project.

'Gurgaon Metro rail would be a boon for the people of Gurgaon. Six stations would be established on its stretch to ensure that a station falls at minimum reachable distance from residences as well as from offices of the commuters,' he added.

This would be the first Metro system in the country to be built and operated privately.