The proposal for the elevated Light Metro, meant for Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode, will be placed before the board of Kerala Monorail Corporation Ltd. (KMCL) that meets here on Friday, for approval.
The KMCL board, chaired by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, which is to meet at the Secretariat, is all set to give approval for the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the Rs.6,728-crore project prepared by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) in place of the scrapped monorail. Sreedharan’s briefing The DMRC, the general consultant of the project, is to make a presentation on key features of the Light Metro to the director board members. Principal Advisor to DMRC and State Planning Board member E. Sreedharan is to brief the board on the road ahead.
Once the board gives approval to the DPR, it would be placed in the Cabinet for clearance, official sources told The Hindu.
The prospects of the 36.4-km project have brightened with Mr. Sreedharan informing Mr. Chandy that the State and the Centre would have to spend only Rs.324 crore and Rs.256 crore a year, respectively, on both the projects.
Mr. Sreedharan also told the Chief Minister that priority sections in both the corridors could be commissioned in three years. “If a decision is taken, civil construction on the priority corridors can be commenced within four months,” he added.
The board is to take a decision on Friday on rechristening the KMCL as Kerala Rapid Transit Corporation as suggested in the DPR to execute the Light Metro. The logo will also be changed.
The cost per km in the capital for Light Metro is Rs.158 crore and Rs.154 crore in Kozhikode. The DMRC has retained the same alignment fixed for the scrapped MRTS and locations for the stations — 19 in the capital city and 15 in Kozhikode. Three cars that can carry 600 persons had been proposed by the DMRC.
