KOCHI:French financing agency Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD), which has expressed willingness to provide funds for the proposed extension of the Kochi Metro Rail to Kakkanad, is likely to provide a loan of `840 crore for the project.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of an ongoing workshop on ‘mass transit and urban development’, Kochi metro Rail Limited (KMRL) managing director Elias George said the proposal had already received in-principle approval from the AFD.
The main focus of the five-day workshop is ‘effective integration of all modes of transport with the larger objective of making public transportation the preferred travel mode for the people of Kochi, and reducing number of cars plying in city’.
“At the workshop, stakeholders of the Kochi Metro Rail and the Unified Metropolitan Transportation Authority (UMTA), from across the world, will evaluate the Kochi Metro Rail project and the UMTA,” he said.
George said the State Cabinet was likely to take a final decision on the issuance of Government Order for the formation of the UMTA soon. Meanwhile, AFD Asia department director Pascal Pacaut said the success of the Kochi Metro Rail would depend on the effective integration of various modes of transport.