KOCHI: Gunther Adler, the State Secretary of the Federal German Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community, on Saturday expressed his willingness to expedite procedures related to the Water Metro Project by Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL). Gunter Adler was responding to a suggestion made by KMRL MD Mohammed Hanish to KFW, the German funding agency, to expedite the communication and decision-making process with regard to the Water Metro Project.
Adler visited KMRL’s Corporate Office in Kochi and held discussion with its top officials and those of Cochin Smart Mission Limited (CSML) and Water Metro. The visit was part of Indo-German bilateral co-operation. The high-level delegation discussed German technical support for sustainable and climate-friendly development in Kochi. The visit focused on the progress of Water Metro, projects under CSML, and the urban transport system of Kochi.
ALSO READ | Kochi Water Metro scheduled for Dec 2019 launch
“The visit reinforces the strong and collaborative effort CSML and Federal Republic of Germany are taking to bring in world-class technologies, as well as intellectual support for the conceptualisation of various projects and the same would definitely bring about the much-needed paradigm shift for the city of Kochi” said APM Mohammed Hanish, who is also the MD of CSML. Adler lauded the initiatives taken as part of Kochi 1 card and its diversified nature.
Karl Ehlerding, Deputy Consul General (Bangalore) of the Federal Republic of Germany; Syed Ibrahim, Honorary Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany in Kerala & Director, Goethe-Zentrum Trivandrum; Ralf Schulze, Head of Division, International Urban Development and Smart Cities; Julie Reviere, Country Director of the German Agency for International Co-operation (GIZ); and Tanja Feldmann, Cluster Co-ordinator and Director - Sustainable Urban and Industrial Development, GIZ, were part of the team.