A three-member consortium of international consultants led by Paris-based Systra and comprising RITES Limited and Gopal Infra has emerged as the successful bidder for preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the proposed light metro rail in Vijayawada city.
An agreement in this regard is likely to be made in a week with the Amaravati Metro Rail Corporation Limited (AMRCL), its Managing Director N.P. Ramakrishna Reddy told The Hindu .
He said KfW, German government-owned development bank, was extending financial assistance for the DPR preparation, for which a special fund is being made available by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of that country.
Two corridors
CPSC Transcom Limited of Canada, EGIS Rail SA of France, GRE Gauff Railway Engineering of Germany, and RINA Consulting of Italy were the other lead firms shortlisted from out of total nine firms that submitted Expression of Interest.
The DPR will be for a light metro rail which the Andhra Pradesh government had opted after certain objections raised by the Central government on the basis of Peak Hour Passenger Per Direction (PHPDT) and Financial Internal Rate of Return parameters and the New Metro Railway Policy rendered the original proposal of a medium metro unviable.
The Amaravati metro spans 26 km in two corridors — Pandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS)-Penamaluru and PNBS-Nidamanur — which have since been extended to the Gannavaram airport, Krishna Canal Junction crossing the Krishna River and Jakkampudi.
