The 2-km extension of the Kochi metro from Pettah to Thripunithura will be completed in 2021-22, Finance Minister Dr. Thomas Isaac said in his budget speech.
Resource mobilisation for the project has been ensured. The construction of the 11-km extension of the metro, from Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium up to the IT hub in Kakkanad too will be carried out at an expenditure of ₹1,957 crore, he added.
French lending agency AFD had agreed to extend a soft loan to Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) for the Kakkanad extension.
While the Thripunithura extension is being carried out using State funds, part funding of the Kakkanad extension by the Centre will be crucial to take it ahead. Apart from funds, the Centre’s sanction too is awaited for the extension.
Yet another important project that featured in the budget was the long-overdue project to relocate the KSRTC bus station to Karikamuri. A commercial multi-rise building will come up there after the existing dilapidated bus station building is demolished.
Over the past two decades, the KSRTC had invited much flak for the horrendous condition of the station premises, owing to slack upkeep and frequent flooding. Funds obtained from the land leased for commercial use will be used to build the new bus station building and related infrastructure.
A ₹2-crore modern garage that was readied a couple of years ago on the southern side developed severe cracks and fell into disuse even before it was commissioned. The Human Rights Commission had repeatedly pulled up the KSRTC for the condition of the premises.
