NEW DELHI: In a move that is likely to provide improved access to public transport, the Cabinet Wednesday approved the proposal for extension of corridor-1 of Chennai Metro Rail Project Phase-I from Washermanpet to Wimconagar covering a length of 9.051 km at a total cost of Rs 3770 crore.
The project scheduled to be completed by March 2018 will be executed by the existing SPV of Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu which is Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. having 50:50 equity of each.
This extension will provide improved access to public transport for dense population comprising predominantly industrial workers to move towards the central business district of the city for work. The estimated ridership will be 1.6 lakh passengers per day in first year of operation.
In the total project cost, Government of India's share will be Rs 713 crore and Government of Tamilnadu's share will be Rs 916 crore.
The share of GoTN included cost of Land and Rehabilitation & Resettlement (R&R) of Rs 203 crore. The balance amount of Rs 2141 crore will be met from loan from multilateral/bilateral/domestic funding agency.