Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) is all set to take the plunge to construct its first metro line, with the agency inviting tenders from design consultants for the 1.50-km Pettah-SN Junction (Thripunithura) stretch. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has been executing all work involving the Kochi metro till now.
This follows the inordinate delay in acquiring land for the corridor. Only a few notifications to commence the land acquisition process are ready.
Even the social impact assessment (SIA), a mandatory requirement under the new Land Acquisition Act, has not begun.
Moreover, DMRC, which built the rest of the metro viaduct, wanted land to be handed over to it by June, said KMRL sources.
The extension work from Pettah will arm KMRL with the experience to construct the metro’s 11-km Kakkanad extension which is awaiting Central nod. A revised detailed project report (DPR) submitted by the agency is awaiting the Centre’s clearance .
“The tenders for the Thripunithura extension [expected to cost approximately ₹335 crore] must be submitted by May-end, and the work will be awarded latest by August.
Our aim is to complete work up to SN Junction by 2020. This includes rebuilding the narrow Pettah bridge as a four-lane one,” the sources added.
Of the two stations on the stretch, the one proposed at Alliance Junction will be shifted to North Fort Junction. The other station will be built as scheduled at Milma premises at SN Junction.
On the proposal to further extend the viaduct, metro sources said DMRC had submitted a basic feasibility study, based on which KMRL would prepare a DPR and submit it to the State government.
The study had suggested taking the alignment from SN Junction to the vicinity of the Thripunithura railway station by taking a right turn before the SN Junction overbridge.
A senior DMRC official said the agency had communicated the need to complete land acquisition in a time-bound manner.
