VIJAYAWADA: Officials of Amaravati Metro Rail Corporation (AMRC) will convene a preliminary meeting with France-based Systra group on February 28 over the execution of the Light Metro Rail project proposed in Vijayawada. The meeting, which was to be held on Monday, was postponed due to the CII Partnership Summit being held in Visakhapatnam.
The AMRC made an agreement with Systra group on February 22 for the preparation of a detailed project report (DPR), which will be readied by the firm in next six months. After inviting tenders, AMRC, in request for proposal (RFP), gave clear instructions to the Systra group to design proposals for the realisation of light metro connecting Amaravati capital region from Gannavaram Airport via Vijayawada.
As per the RFP, the group will also design proposals for realising the light metro project at another three corridors in city along with the already proposed Mahatma Gandhi Road, Eluru Road, Jakkampudi and Krishna Canal connecting Amaravati. Initially, the AMRC had set a deadline of four months for preparing the DPR. However, the Systra group sought for two more months time due to delay in the finalisation of the agreement.
Considering the plea, the AMRC increased the deadline to six months. A team of representatives from Germany-based KfW Development Bank, who are thoroughly monitoring the tender procedure opted by AMRC for DPR preparation, will tour the city on March 14.
“The KFW bank and French Development Agency have come forward to finance around `4,000 crore-`5,000 crore for realising the light metro project in the city, which is to be taken under PPP mode. However, the civil works for the project will be conducted under the supervision of the state government,” AMRC MD NP Ramakrishna Reddy said.