THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A final decision on the proposed light metro project in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode cities will be delayed by a couple of months more.
For, a board meeting of the Kerala Rapid Transit Ltd (KRTL) chaired by the Chief Minister has decided to hold a fresh feasibility study for the Thiruvananthapuram Light Metro by extending the service to Technopark in the city which will increase the length of light metro here by around 700-800 metres.
KRTL managing director K N Satheesh told Express the board put forth the idea of extending the service to Technopark to increase the number of commuters. “It will take at least one-and-half to two months to submit the report after holding the fresh feasibility study. A decision on both light metros will be taken only after submitting the new report. For, extending the service to Technopark would lead to cost escalation,” he said. He said extending the service to Technopark would do good as it will considerably increase the number of commuters in the light metro in the capital.
Earlier, a committee led by Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) Manoj Joshi was formed to review the feasibility of the mass rapid transit systems (MRTS) before clearing the detailed project report (DPR) submitted by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) as per the revised Metro Policy-2017.
It is required that the committee clear the feasibility report before it gets the board’s and the cabinet’s nod and is forwarded to the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for its approval. The committee approval is also mandatory considering the project cost as the expenditure for laying light metro along 35.12 km in the two cities will increase by `700 crore from the present `6,728 crore as per the revised DPR.
Though the committee report was to be discussed on Wednesday. However, in the light of the extension proposed, the committee report will be considered in the next meeting after considering the extension, said KRTL officials. No change has been proposed in the alignment of the Kozhikode light metro project. As per the revised DPR, the Thiruvananthapuram stretch will cost `4,673 crore and the Kozhikode stretch `2,773 crore.
