Kochi Metro: Sreedharan clears air

KOCHI: The cost of  Kochi Metro rail project can be brought down if the government appoints the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation instead of involving general consultants, said DMRC former Managing Director E Sreedharan here on Wednesday. His comment comes at a time when there is a raging debate over the state government’s move to call a global tender to appoint general consultants.“The costs can shoot up when you appoint private consultants for a project. In the Chennai and Bangalore Metro Rail projects, where general consultants were appointed through global tender, the project costs have skyrocketed. “In fact, in the Bangalore Metro Rail, the  cost has already gone up by 40 percent,” Sreedharan said while having a discussion with Mayor Tony Chammany.He said the DMRC had stopped calling for general consultants after its experience during the implementation of the first phase of the Delhi Metro Rail project. “From the second phase onwards, we stopped calling for general consultants. In fact, the DMRC has not called general consultants for any of its projects from then on,” he said. The Gurgaon-Noida and Faridabad extensions of the Delhi Metro, the huge underground parking facility for Delhi High Court and Haryana Government projects were all undertaken by the DMRC without going for global tender.He  reiterated that he will not associate himself with  Kochi Metro  unless the work is given to the DMRC. He cannot single-handedly undertake a project of this scale and needed the technical expertise of the DMRC. “The DMRC with an experience of 14 years in the field has the technical know-how to undertake the project. The KMRL lacks this expertise,” he said.Sreedharan rubbished the statements about the non-availability of loans from the Japan International Cooperation Agency if the DMRC takes up the project. “I have had personal consultation with the JICA officials. They have assured us that the loan will be passed if the DMRC takes up the project. If the KMRL is to undertake the project, there will be further delays. Since it is a new company, the JICA will have to undertake detailed investigations and procedure to pass the loan,” Sreedharan said.He said additional costs would come in the way if DMRC was not involved. If a small organisation like the KMRL takes up the project, then they would have to meet additional costs in terms of manpower and infrastructure. But he denied any confrontation between the DMRC and the KMRL. “The KMRL will be monitoring the work of the DMRC, conducting audits on the work, channelling the funds of the state government, land acquisition and so on. Once the project is undertaken, the operation will be undertaken by the KMRL,” he said.He said the final decision on involving the DMRC rests with the Chief Minister and hoped that Chandy would consult his Cabinet colleagues and take a decision in a day or two.