No hurdles in commissioning the project in April, says Elias George

Work on the Rs.2,000-crore Phase-II of the Kochi Metro Rail project — extension of the line to Kakkanad — is likely to commence in early 2017, with the French agency Agence Francaise de Development (AFD) expressing willingness to financially back the project.

AFD is expected to provide a total loan of Rs.2,161 crore for the project. The Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) has sought another Rs.161 crore for improving stations and setting up a command and control centre for a unified transport authority for the urban area. The command and control centre is expected to cost between Rs.40 and Rs.50 crore, KMRL Managing Director Elias George told the media here on Monday.

He added that the second phase of the project was expected to come up before the Public Investment Board (PIB) in a month.

From the PIB, the proposal will go to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs which will grant the final financial approval for the project.

The second phase of the project will come up for discussions at a two-day meeting in Paris between Indian and French government officials on November 9 and 10.

Deadline

Mr. George said he foresaw no difficulty in meeting the April 2017 deadline for commissioning the metro project. “Manpower issues raised by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will be sorted out, and it will not pose a hurdle in meeting the deadline for commissioning the project,” he added.

Earlier, Mr. George held a round of discussions with AFD officials who arrived in Kochi on Monday to take stock of the progress of the project.

After assessing the project, head of the transport division of AFD in Paris Rima Le Coguic said things were moving ahead well. Hervé Dubreuil of AFD from Delhi said the French agency had several projects in India, and that it had backed the Centre’s Smart City project in a big way.

Urban transport expert Mathieu Verdure was also part of the French team who visited the metro project as well as the Vyttila mobility hub. Incidentally, the French agency is looking at the possibility of financially backing the mobility hub expansion project.

Mr. Dubreuil said AFD had backed the Centre for implementing its Smart City projects in Nagpur, Chandigarh, and Pondicherry. “Kochi can join the list, and the French agency is keen on looking at urban transport solutions in smart cities,” he said.

He added that AFD was also providing technical expertise in the field of transport.