With the Cabinet giving the administrative sanction for the 22.2-km monorail project in the State capital, decks have been cleared for signing the agreement with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for the Rs.5,581-crore elevated mass rapid transit system in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode. DMRC will be the general consultant for both the projects.
The Cabinet had earlier given administrative sanction for the 14.2-km monorail from the Government Medical College hostel area to Meenchantha in Kozhikode. The order granting administrative sanction for the project in the capital will be issued by the Secretary, Public Works, in 24 hours.
A single agreement will be signed with the DMRC for the projects in the two cities as the general consultant and executing agency are the same. “All hurdles have been removed. The apprehensions that the DMRC will not be able to take up the project are unfounded. The pact will be signed soon and the MRTS project will be completed in a time-bound manner,” Minister for Public Works V.K. Ebrahim Kunju told The Hindu .
The agreement and the terms of conditions were cleared by the director board of Kerala Monorail Corporation Limited (KMCL), the special purpose vehicle (SPV) established by the government to execute the MRTS in the two cities.
The DMRC will get 3.25 per cent of the estimated Rs.5,581 crore as consultancy fee and the mode of payment will be quarterly. Of the Rs.5,581 crore, Rs.3,590 crore is expected to be incurred for the Thiruvananthapuram monorail project and Rs.1,991 crore for the one in Kozhikode.
As a general consultant, the DMRC will be responsible for the design, preparation of the bid document, short-listing and selecting contractors, supervision, and quality certification. The real challenge now will be to select the funding agency for the two projects. The State government will acquire land once the agreement is signed.
Meanwhile, the KMCL has posted a Chief General Manager and a Project Manager to expedite groundwork for monorail.
