The Hyderabad Airport Metro Limited (HAML) is considering making changes to the 31-kilometre Rs 6,250 crore fast metro to its international airport RGIA amid the rapid real estate development along the path, Managing Director N.VS. Reddy said on Tuesday, as per The Hindu. This will help accommodate emerging riders, he said.
He said that public transport is an “effective way to “decongest” the twin cities and to make the capital a “liveable place”. He further said that Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao wants to focus on city traffic issues in the coming years. “We are re-working the project taking into consideration the new developments in the design stage itself as it will almost become a city metro. Shamshabad could become part of the city in 10 years,” he said in a press conference.
Citing the example of the ongoing Corridor lll- Blue Line between Raidurg and Nagole Reddy said, “Who would have thought about Nanakramguda’s growth?” Saying that there are currently five lakh passengers travelling in the metro, in two years the count is likely to reach seven lakh. He added that it is then when the project would become financially viable with “property development by the concessionnaire”.
Cost of the project and funding
HAML is going through the tenders it has been given, which includes tenders submitted by L&T and NCL. A contractor will soon be chosen and the government will then take a decision. Owing to the Outer Ring Road (ORR), HAML has been able to bring down the costs per kilometre to Rs 200-210 crore by reducing the height of the piers and other software solutions. The regular cost reportedly is Rs 300 crore per kilometre.
Reddy has said that the government will be deciding the funding regarding the 5.5-kilometre MGBS-Falaknuma stretch. He added that there is a 99% chance that L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad (L&TMRH) will be taking up the construction work. The Telangana government will be seeking central government’s assistance for the project involving the 31-kilometre Lakidikapul-BHEL and Nagole-LB Nagar lines at a revised cost of ₹9,100 crore.
The state government will also seek funding from Centre for building the Rs 60,000 crore 278-kilometre eight metro extension corridors and four ORR corridors which the cabinet decided on Monday. Other funding options which will be explored include, JICA loan at 3% interest.
Reddy refused to give a time frame for completing the metro lines and said that it depends on the government’s permissions and funding.