The Centre will announce a new metro policy featuring innovative financing, and will add a list of new cities to the Smart Cities Mission on June 23, said Union Minister for Urban Development M. Venkaiah Naidu said on Saturday.
He was speaking at a function where President Pranab Mukherjee flagged off the last stretch of Namma Metro’s Green Line in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Governor Vajubhai R. Vala, and a host of Union and State Ministers.
“The new metro policy is to enable greater private participation and innovative financing — through Value Capture Financing — and to ensure conformity to comprehensive mobility plans,” said Mr. Naidu. More cities would be added to the Smart Cities Mission and names of the new cities would be announced on June 23, Mr. Naidu added. With the commissioning of the 11.3-km line between Mantri Square Sampige Road and Yelachenahalli, metro network of 42.3 km — with 40 stations in East-West and North-South corridors for Phase I — has been completed at a cost of ₹13,845 crore.
With the opening of the line, the total metro length operational in the country is 370 km (including 13.4 km inaugurated by Prime Minister in Kochi on Saturday) in the cities of Delhi and NCR, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, Jaipur, and Mumbai. Around 517 km is under construction in various cities, including Delhi and NCR, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, Jaipur, Mumbai, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Nagpur and Lucknow and another around 522 km is under consideration, Mr. Naidu said.
