Nod for Light Metro expected in six months.

The government is going ahead with the preparatory work for the commencement of the Light Metro project in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode in the full assurance that the Centre will give sanction for the project, Public Works Minister V.K. Ebrahim Kunju has said.

Replying to a question by A. Pradeep Kumar in the Assembly recently, the Minister said that he, along with the Chief Minister, had met Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu in October last year and had submitted the detailed project report for Light Metro. This was followed by the submission of the Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) prepared by NATPAC. The government hoped to get approval for the project in six months.

The government had decided to appoint DMRC as the interim consultant for the Light Metro project because of the creditable work the firm was doing with regards to Kochi Metro. Though several firms had expressed interest in taking over the project, the government was yet to decide. The decision to opt for Light Metro had been taken on the basis of Peak Hour Peak Direction Traffic (PHPDT), Mr. Ebrahim Kunju said, in reply to a question by K. Muraleedharan.

In cities with PHPDT of less than 30,000, only Light Metro was feasible. In the case of Thiruvananthapuram, this was 10,000 while for Kozhikode, this was 6,000.

The total expected project cost for Light Metro for both cities was Rs.6,728 crore, of which Thiruvananthapuram Light Metro project alone had been estimated at Rs.4,219 crore. In Thiruvananthapuram, the project would be 21.82 km long with 19 stations, while in Kozhikode, the project would cover a distance of 13.33 km, with 14 stations.

In Thiruvananthapuram, 13 km of the proposed Light Metro will be through Kazhakuttam Assembly constituency. The preparatory work, including widening of the road to 24 m between Kesavadasapuram and Kazhakuttam, construction of a Central median of 2.5 m, four-lane road, footpath, utility corridor and flyovers at Sreekaryam and Ulloor had been proposed. The expected cost for the preparatory work, apart from the project cost, was Rs.548 crore, including the expenditure on land acquisition, the Minister said.

Light Metro project could not be a viable one just on the basis of passenger ticket sales and hence the government was planning to develop select stations and have commercial complexes, in the model of Delhi Metro, Mr. Ebrahim Kunju said. About 20 acres of land had been acquired at Pallippuram, where a depot and shopping complex was planned.

THE HINDU