Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar and Municipal Administration Minister K.T. Rama Rao, on Friday, inaugurated the Hi-Tec City to Raidurg Metro service.
With this 1.5 km metro stretch, Corridor Three — Nagole to Raidurg — or the Blue Line, was completed.
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao will inaugurate the last leg of Hyderabad Metro Rail, Corridor Two, from Jubilee Bus Station to Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (Imliban) of about 11 km, during Sankranti in January, the Transport Minister said.
In the meantime, the State government will involve the Unified Metropolitan Transportation Authority (UMTA) in ensuring that the first and last mile connectivity gets coordinated in a more efficient manner involving the TSRTC, cabs and autos, he said.
Mr. Ajay Kumar also stated that the Chief Minister was contemplating major reforms in the functioning of the TSRTC that will be announced in the coming few days.
Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) managing director N.V.S. Reddy said that the extension of the last stretch will help add up to the increasing number of passengers beyond the daily four lakh mark as it has provided connectivity to several IT/ITES firms in the vicinity.
Mr. Reddy said that Mindspace facility was going to build a huge skywalk, costing upto ₹100 crore, to the station. Several other firms too had evinced interest in building their own skywalks. The focus will be on completing two other entry-exit points as well as the street infrastructure under the station like footpaths. The frequency of trains will be maintained between 3.5-4 minutes and the extra trains pressed into service following the TSRTC strike will continue, as more passengers are expected to clamber on, he added.
The entire project of about ₹20,000 crore saw the State government putting in about ₹2,500 crore for properties acquisition and utilities replacement, and Centre about ₹1,200 crore of the ₹1,450 crore as viability gap funding, he explained.
“As is evident, this is a unique public, private partnership project where the private sector had played a major role without spending government money. We have been getting enquiries from across the world about how we have built this against all odds and once written off as impossible. Metro assets will be with the government once the Concession Agreement period is over,” he said.
The Industries/IT department has been given charge of single mobility card, the MD said.
