Metro Rail project to chug off soon

Metro Rail project to chug off soon

The project is proposed to be completed in five years, and it would cater to over 8.2 lakh commuters every day.
Deccan Herald

The ambitious Metro Rail project in Bangalore may finally take off, with the long-pending clearance from the Centre and State governments expected next month. But the project will definitely prove a burden for the exchequer.

The estimated cost of the project has escalated by a whopping Rs 600 crore in the last one-and-a-half years, thanks to both the governments for delaying the green signal.

According to the latest appraisal report on the project cost by UTI Bank, the estimated cost of Metro Rail project in Bangalore has shot up to Rs 5,606 crore against the earlier estimation of Rs 4,989 crore.

The cost escalation is mainly due to hike in real estate valve in Bangalore city, fuel prices and construction materials, including steel, cement and labour in the span of over one-and-a-half year, according to the appraisal report.

As per the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s (DMRC) estimation, the Metro Rail in Bangalore was estimated to cost Rs 4,989 crore.

Interestingly, the State government, while seeking the Planning Commission’s assistance on the metro rail project in Bangalore on November 18, did not submit revised estimates.

The plan is to take up 23.63 kms of elevated track and 6.7 km of underground track under the first phase of the project.

It will also have 32 connecting terminals across the city and the trains would ply along two corridors from North-South (Yeshwanthpur to Jayanagar) and East-West (Mysore Road-Ring Road junction to Byappanahalli).

The project is proposed to be completed in five years, and it would cater to over 8.2 lakh commuters each day.

But so far, neither the State nor the Centre has confirmed about their equity participation in the project.

“The State Government is expected to clear the project in a month’s time, while the Centre has almost cleared it. The land acquisition process will be initiated soon after getting clearance from the State Government,” Bangalore Mass Rapid Transit Limited (BMRTL) Managing Director K N Shrivatsava told Deccan Herald.

On cost escalation, he said: “We cannot afford to further delay this project. Rs 50 lakh increase every day is really a huge sum and both governments should hasten the process to approve the project at the earliest.”

Mr Shrivastsava said that there are no hurdles before BMRTL for mobilising funds as over 46 financial institutions have come forward to extend loan amounting to Rs 3,500 crore.