CHENNAI: Touching upon the metro rail projects of the state, Minister for Finance Thangam Thennarasu on Monday announced that the state has allocated a total of Rs 12,000 crore coming financial year for Phase II work of the Chennai Metro Rail (CMRL) project.
He also announced that the detailed project reports for the metro rail projects in Coimbatore and Madurai have been sent to the Union government for approval on equity-sharing basis.
With the Centre dilly-dallying over the state government’s plea for 50:50 ratio in funding towards implementation of the second phase of Chennai Metro project, questions remain whether the former will even consider the same ratio of funding for projects in Coimbatore and Madurai.
According to the budget announcement, the DPRs for Metro Rail along Avinashi and Sathyamangalam Road in Coimbatore at a cost of Rs 10,740 crore, and one in Madurai connecting Thirumangalam and Othakkadai at Rs 11,368 crore have been sent to the Union government for approval.
While the finance minister assured that work will commence once the approval is received, he also said the “inordinate delay” by the Union government in approving the Chennai Metro project has so far forced the state to incur its entire expenditure.
It may be noted that Phase II of the CMRL project is currently state-funded despite several reminders having been sent to the Union government. Last year, the state in addition to the funds released by multilateral agencies had allocated Rs 9,000 crore for carrying out second -phase works.
Meanwhile, the finance minister said the DPR for extending the metro rail route from Chennai airport till Kalaignar Centenary Bus Terminus (KCBT) in Kilambakkam at an outlay of Rs 4,625 crore has been prepared. It will, too, be submitted shortly to the Union government for approval on equity-sharing basis, he added.
This may mean that those travelling to KCBT have to wait longer for metro connectivity even when sources said the project was originally envisaged keeping metro connectivity in mind.
In another development, the minister announced that a special purpose vehicle will be formed through a joint venture between CMRL and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) to construct a 27-storeyed ‘heritage’ building spanning approximately 10 lakh sq ft opposite Chennai central railway station at a cost of Rs 688 crore.