The approximately ₹3,000-crore Bliss City that Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) has proposed in Kakkanad to generate non-fare revenue to meet the metro’s expenses has got an impetus, with the title deed for the 17.43 acres needed for the project being handed over to the metro agency on Friday.
District Collector S. Suhas handed it over to KMRL managing director Alkesh Kumar Sharma. The land belongs to the PWD and houses, among others, governments quarters. KPMG has been tasked with conducting a study and readying a master plan for the Bliss City project. In addition, investors will have to be made aware of its potential.
“The consultancy firm is expected to submit the plan shortly. Details like the mode of financing the project too ought to be finalised. It will most likely emulate the second phase development work of the Vyttila Mobility Hub, which is slated to be executed in Public-Private Partnership [PPP] mode,” metro sources said.
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KMRL had earlier this year inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Kerala Infrastructure Fund Management Limited (KIFML) to develop the Bliss City project in Kakkanad and to woo international investments.
The project has been envisaged as a state-of-the-art entertainment zone in the city, one which will become a wellness and wholesome entertainment destination for the people of Kochi and also for tourists. However, plans to construct affordable apartments on the premises were dropped, considering the fall in demand for apartments, especially in the Kakkanad region, sources said.
The revenue from the project will be used to meet the metro’s operation and maintenance (O&M) expenses. The O&M expenses will go up as years pass by, since the warranty period for different components, especially the metro viaduct, station buildings, coach depot at Muttom, and 25 metro trains has expired or will expire shortly, it is learnt.
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Ecological concerns
A section of residents and socio-environmental activists have expressed concern over the possible felling of trees numbering 4,000, of around 180 species, for the project. It will in turn affect hundreds of birds that nest there. “The felling of trees will affect the region’s biodiversity and hamper percolation of water into the ground. A majority of trees are either fruit-bearing or rain trees having good canopy,” said environmental activist Prof. C.M. Joy, who led tree surveys here under a District Tree Committee initiative. There was also a demand to carve out a substantial green zone in the project’s periphery, since it is among the few green lungs in the city.
Meanwhile, metro sources said care would be taken to retain maximum greenery on the 17.30-acre premises.