KOCHI: If Union Minister for Urban Development Venkaiah Naidu’s remarks are taken as a cue, the state will have to wait further for the Centre’s nod for the light metro projects proposed for Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.At the commissioning of the first phase of Kochi Metro on Saturday, Naidu asked the state government to conduct a travel-demand study before pitching the projects.
“The Kerala Government has submitted the revised proposal for Kochi Metro Rail covering a total length of 11.2 km from Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium to Kakkanad,” he said.“The estimated cost for extension is Rs 2,577 crore. It has also proposed light metro projects for Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode. I would like to mention that proper feasibility and travel-demand study should be made before going for metro system as this is highly cost intensive.”
Certain City Improvement projects are also planned for Kochi such as pedestrianisation of roads, junction improvement and integration of different forms of transport at a total cost of Rs 161 crore, he said. Naidu also said the operational metro projects in the country will get doubled from the present 359 km over the next two years with about 350 km of metro lines becoming operational in eight states. “During the last three years, 97 km have been made operational,” he said.