The State government has invited proposals from consultancy firms for providing transaction advisory services for the Chennai Monorail project. The consultant's job will be to assist the monorail cell at the Metropolitan Transport Corporation in evaluation of the technical and financial bids received in response to the global bidding process initiated by the government.
Once a developer is selected through a transparent points-based evaluation process for implementing a monorail mass rapid transit system in the identified corridors under Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer basis, a Special Purpose Vehicle would be formed within a month. In the first phase of Chennai Monorail project, a 111-km-long network is proposed to be built, a senior government official said.
The State government would offer an initial ‘grant', but the project would be largely financed by the developer in exchange for land and development rights. The terms of this arrangement would be clearly defined in a concession agreement, which would also stipulate a user fare structure.
Aiding and advising the government's Empowered Monorail Committee during the preparation of the concession agreement would also be the consultant's responsibility.
The government has set an ambitious target of two years for the implementation of at least one segment of the proposed 111-km long monorail network. Work on the 19-km monorail line in Mumbai, the only Indian city where a monorail system is currently under construction, has already taken three years and it is yet to be completed.
The Chennai Monorail system is proposed to constitute a network of four elevated corridors – Vandalur to Puzhal via Avadi (54 km); Vandalur to Velachery via Tambaram East (23 km); Poonamallee to Kathipara via Porur (18 km); and Poonamallee to Vadapalani via Valasarawakkam (16 km).
