German bank KfW has agreed to sanction a loan of ₹ 2,500 crore for the much-publicised metro rail project in the city. With this, the State government is contemplating starting the work shortly.
The government proposes to construct two corridors with a length of 26 km. While one corridor will come up covering 12.5 km, the other will cover 13.5 km.
Phase -I by 2018
Another metro project, which was planned for Visakhapatnam, would be taken up on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. The government is proposing to construct two corridors in Visakhapatnam. The other two corridors are from Gurudwara to the Old Post Office and Tatichetlapalem to Park Hotel. The Visakhapatnam project is envisaged for completion by 2019.
Municipal Administration Minister P. Narayana on Thursday said the the government was planning to complete the phase-I in Vijayawada before 2018.
After opting out of the proposal to approach the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for loan, the State government is heavily banking on funding by the German and French development banks KfW and Agence Francaise de Development (AFD) to put the Metro project on track.
The government is expecting a loan of ₹4,000 crore from these banks, which have in-principle approved the loan. They are yet to work out individual contributions.
The Amaravati Metro Rail Corporation (AMRC) held talks with various external funding agencies, including the European Investment Bank, World Bank and Asian agencies. The government also explored the ‘green route’ and planned to tap funds through the Climate Bonds Initiative, a U.K.-based non-profitable organisation.
The government opted out of JICA loan as it made clear that the soft loan would be ‘tied’ loan and insisted that 30 per cent of the loan component must be utilised for procurement of the rolling stock from Japan.
Logos invited
The Amaravati Metro Rail Corporation Limited (AMRCL) has invited logos for the prestigious project, to be submitted by February 20.
In a press release, AMRCL Managing Director N.P. Ramakrishna Reddy said there were about 165 metro rail and 450 light metro rail projects in the world and each one of them had its logo.
The logo for Amaravati should depict the Sunrise State, a train, tracks, water and greenery and local cultural traits / icons reflecting Amaravati history.
The best design will be awarded Rs.50000 and the second best design Rs.30000 and the third one Rs.20000. No prize money will be given for other contenders.
The art work/graphic designs can be submitted as hard copies, or soft copies through e-mail info@amrc.co.in
Details of AMRC can be seen on the website http://www.amrc.co.in
Further information can be secured from AMRC General Manager K.S.V.S. Kameswara Rao through mobile number 9100086482.
