KRTL to execute Light Metro

: Kerala Rapid Transit Corporation Ltd. (KRTL), a special purpose vehicle (SPV), has been formed to execute the Rs.6,728 crore Light Metro proposed for Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.

The KRT had been formed on the basis of a decision taken on October 24 by the board of the Kerala Monorail Corporation Ltd (KMCL) chaired by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. The board had decided to go in for Light Metro as the monorail project was scrapped in view of the “prohibitive cost” (Rs. 14,588 crore as against the estimate of Rs. 4,500 crore) quoted by the lone bidder — Bombardier Consortium.

A government notification to this effect had been issued by Secretary, Public Works Department, A.P.M. Mohammed Hanish, Official sources told

The Hindu . The government has “rechristened” the KMCL as KRTL as the monorail had been scrapped. The Managing Director of the SPV has been given the nod to change the Article of Association and to approach the Registrar of Companies. The KRTL will be under the Public Works Department like KMCL and will execute the Light Metro in 35.12 km in two cities.

The single company for the projects in the two cities had been proposed by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) in the Detailed Project Report (DPR) submitted to the government. The DMRC has said separate companies can be considered after implementation of the project.

The Chief Minister is the chairman and Minister for Public Works V.K. Ebrahim Kunju is the vice-chairman of SPV that is fully owned by the State. The KMCL headquarters near Raj Bhavan here and the project office functioning in Kozhikode will become the headquarters and office of the KRT respectively.

Tendering

The DMRC has commenced steps to prepare the scheme of tendering for the project and detailed specification for tendering. S. Vijayakumaran, project director, Light Metro, DMRC, and general manager (civil), P. Jayakumar held discussions with the DMRC in Delhi on Thursday.

The DMRC has asked the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre that is preparing the Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) for the two cities to fix the alignment for the 22.2-km Pallipuram-Karamana corridor in the capital.