Though the extension of Kochi metro rail to Tripunithura and Nedumbassery is under the consideration of the state government, priority will be given to the completion of the first phase of the project from Aluva to Petta within the deadline, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said here on Saturday.
He was addressing media after inspecting construction sites of the Kochi Metro Rail project.
Expressing satisfaction over the progress of the construction work, the Chief Minister said the proposed expansion plan would be carried out only in the second phase of the project.
“The project is progressing at a rapid pace and today is the 141th day after the commencement of the work. Though there were some initial hiccups when the work began, it picked up pace later. As per the deadline, now 984 days are remaining for the completion of the project. The enthusiasm shown by E Sreedharan (Principal Adviser to DMRC) and DMRC for the construction works is really praiseworthy and we hope that the project is completed within the schedule,” Chandy said.
He also congratulated Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) Managing Director Elias George and Ernakulam District Collector P I Sheik Pareeth for their efforts that helped in the smooth materialisation of the project.
“The KMRL review meeting will be held on October 31. Issues like reconstruction of South Railway Over Bridge (RoB), widening of Thammanam-Pullepady Road and shifting of Kerala Water Authority pipelines at SA Road will be resolved at that meeting,” he said.
The Chief Minister reiterated that the reconstruction of South RoB is under the active consideration of the government.
Sreedharan expressed satisfaction over the progress of the project and said the systems’ tender for the metro rail had already been floated.
“The tenders for installation of tracks will be floated soon. As the tender procedures are progressing along with the civil works, other works can also be completed in a time-bound manner,” Sreedharan said.
However, he said that there were some issues related with the project, that need to be addressed like the widening of Vyttila-Petta stretch and shifting of pipelines at SA Road before the commencement of the work at fourth reach.
He expressed the hope that the issues would be sorted at the review meeting chaired by the Chief Minister.