KMRC sets 2014 target for E-W Metro
Metro Rail Corporation Targets Timely Completion Of Project At First Board Meeting
Kolkata: The Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) targeted the timely completion of the East-West Metro project at its first board meeting held on Friday. Modelled on the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), KMRC will run the city’s second Metro by 2014.
That KMRC is interested in completing the project on time became apparent when it began the work even before schedule. “
The tendering process for the elevated portion will be through by next month. It is going to be a time-bound job. The board will closely monitor the construction and help remove bottlenecks to maintaining the schedule,” said Union urban development secretary and chairman of KMRC, M Ramchandran.
KMRC will first choose the general consultant for the project, which will prepare the detailed drawings and also, decide on the technology for the project. A few consortia of companies have bid in response to the global tender floated by KMRC. The last date for submitting bids was July 31.
The board’s members are the state chief secretary, finance secretary, urban development secretary and the transport secretary as KMRC managing director, the Metro Rail general manager, Eastern Railway general manager, director of DMRC, besides the Union urban development secretary as the chairman. The board has expressed satisfaction with the proactive role played by the state by initiating dialogue with those, who have been or will be evicted for the project.
Asked how they would deal with taking over land in West Bengal, where land is such a touchy issue, Ramachandran said a good bit of the required land has already been taken over by the state government and rehabilitation work has been initiated.
State additional chief secretary (transport) Sumantra Chowdhury, who is also the managing director of KMRC, said: “
Some 620 families will be affected and every one of them will be rehabilitated. They would be paid a cost for shifting and relocation.”
Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC), the principal funding agency for the project, has already released Rs 255 crore for the initial phase. The state has also paid Rs 12 crore for the first year. The state government is in a hurry as JBIC has already warned it against any delay, which will require the government to pay extra interest as penalty. JBIC, which earlier had funded four flyover projects in the city, was irritated by the inordinate delay in completing them. The time overrun had led to cost overruns. Hence, only four flyovers could be built instead of six.
Significantly, the construction of the Metro corridor, 70% of which will be underground, will not disrupt life on the surface. The tunnel will be cut with the help of drilling machines, leaving no obstruction on the surface.
However, the delay in commissioning the project has already resulted in a substantial cost escalation — a new worry for the government. The detailed project report, prepared by RITES, estimated the cost at Rs 3,349 crore. But the escalated cost would be around Rs 4,746 crore, which includes the cost of land acquisition, said a transport department official.
Times of India
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