The Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the elevated Light Metro proposed for the cities of Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode was approved by the director board of Kerala Monorail Corporation Ltd (KMCL) chaired by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy here on Friday.
The DPR, prepared by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for Light Metro in place of scrapped monorail, a Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS), for 35.12 km in both the cities, now needs Cabinet clearance.
The board also gave its nod to rename KMCL, the special purpose vehicle, as the Kerala Rapid Transit Corporation (KRT) as suggested in the DPR in view of the migration to Light Metro.
A fresh agreement is to be signed with DMRC and the terms of consultancy are to be worked out. Managing Director, KMCL, has been entrusted with this task.
The same alignment fixed for the scrapped MRTS and locations for the 19 stations in the 28.82 km Technocity-Karamana stretch in the capital and 14 in the 13.30 km Medical College-Meenchanda section in Kozhikode have been retained. A total of 17.47 hectares of government land and 4.62 hectares of private land is to be acquired in both the cities.
Three cars that can accommodate 600 commuters have been proposed. The fare recommended ranges from Rs.13 for two km to Rs.38 for 18 km.
Civil worksBriefing the media, Public Works Minister V.K. Ebrahim Kunju said civil works can be kicked off within four months after Cabinet gives its clearance.
The estimated cost of Light Metro is Rs.5,510 crore for both the cities and Rs.6,728 crore on completion in 2021. The average cost per km is Rs.156 crore.
The project is to be implemented as a government initiative on the DMRC model with viability gap funding by the Centre and the State. The remaining funds will be found through borrowing internally and externally, he said. The project is to be executed on a turnkey basis on the lines of the Kochi Metro by a competent agency.
Principal Adviser to DMRC, E. Sreedharan, who also attended the board meeting, said a meeting of the rolling stock suppliers Hitachi, Alstom, Rotem, CAF & Talgo and Bombardier who had evinced interest will be held in next 20 days to work out the specifications.
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