Ending 39 months of uncertainty, the government has given administrative sanction for the Light Metro proposed for Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.
Kerala Rapid Transit Limited (KRTL), the special purpose vehicle set up to execute the project in 35.12 km in the two key cities, has been given the nod to forward the revised detailed project report (DPR) to the Centre.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had submitted the DPR in December 2017 as per the revised Metro Policy-2017 of the Centre. It was approved by the KRTL board on October 19, 2020 and the Cabinet early this month.
As per a Government Order issued by the Public Works Department, the Light Metro along the 21.8-km corridor from Pallipuram to Karamana in the State capital will now cost ₹4,673 crore on completion and the 13.3-km Medical College to Meenchandha stretch in Kozhikode ₹2,773 crore.
The contribution of the State is ₹2,187 crore, including land cost, spread over a period of five years.
FAR to be enhanced
For transit oriented development, the DPR has recommended enhancing the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) along the metro corridor from 2.5 to 4. In the case of value capture finance, property tax along the corridor will be increased by 50%. Further an increase of 2% in land registration charges on either side of the corridor has also been proposed.
As part of the PPP component of the Metro policy, automatic fare collection system and lifts and escalators will be provided at ₹213 crore.
Linear induction motor (LIM) propulsion technology has been proposed for the rolling stock.
Implementation
A unified metropolitan transport authority (UMTA) will be set up for efficient implementation by combining various modes of transport with the MRTS. The revised fare for up to two km is ₹13, two to five km ₹25, 5 to 12 km ₹38, 12-21 km ₹51, and ₹63 for above 21 km.
The DPR will be submitted to the Centre next week for approval, sources said.
