Kerala Monorail Corporation Ltd (KMCL), a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) set up for the implementation of the Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram monorail projects, will hold talks with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on the terms and conditions to make the DMRC a turnkey consultant for executing the Mass Rapid Transit Systems.
A decision to this effect was taken at the first board meeting of the KMCL chaired by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy here on Tuesday. A sub-committee headed by Minister for Public Works and vice-chairman of the KMCL V.K. Ebrahim Kinju has been set up to hold talks with the DMRC, official sources said.
Besides the Minister, Additional Chief Secretary, Transport, Elias George and Secretary, PWD, T.O. Sooraj and Chief Executive Officer of the Kerala Road Fund Board and KMCL Harikesh P.C. are the members of the sub-committee. All three are direct board members of the KMCL, set up by the government recently.
The sub-committee has been told to negotiate with the DMRC and submit a report at the next board meeting of the KMCL scheduled for the second week of January, sources said. The DMRC had recently submitted the Detailed Project Report (DPR) to the government for the monorail project in Thiruvanananthapuram. The DMRC has suggested combining the monorail projects in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode as private parties may not be interested in taking up the work owing to low Internal Rate of Return. The DMRC has suggested a turn-key contractor for operation and maintenance of the projects in the initial five years after its commissioning and later handing over the responsibility to the KMCL.
Industries Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty; Finance Minister K.M. Mani; Transport Minister Aryadan Mohammed; Panchayats Minister M. K. Muneer; Health Minister V. S. Sivakumar; and Urban Affairs Minister Manjalamkuzhi Ali took part.
