KOCHI: The Metro Rail project has surely triggered the curiosity of Kochiites. Even as everyone looks forward to it becoming a reality, Managing Director of the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd Tom Jose speaks to City Express about the mega transportation project.Need for Metro Rail in KochiThere are two ways in which you can look at the issue. First of all, when you are looking at this kind of a project, you cannot assess the need simplyas a function of population. There are several other aspects to it. Firstly, the traffic congestion is one of the aspects. Traffic congestion is not caused by high population alone. It is also caused by narrow roads, inability to widen and upgrade the existing roads, inability to control the growth in the number of vehicles etc.Secondly, on the question of population itself, corporation has arrived at the figure of 11 lakh considering the area within the Kochi Corporation which was determined some 30-40 years back. In the mean time the city has expanded and the suburbs have developed. So we are essentially talking about a greater Cochin area. This would add additional 6.6 lakh. Besides there is a huge floating population which does not come under any of these figures. Though we don’t have any official data, the figures arrived through various sources put it at something like 3-5 lakh. The Planning Commission has a bench mark of three million which includes all these figures.Sanction from the Centre We are hopeful of getting the nod from the Centre within two-three weeks' time. We are preparing the Cabinet note and the Chief Minister who visited the Prime Minister recently had also expressed the hope that the project may get nod soon. The Centre is likely to give nod for implementing the project on the model of Chennai Metro. Once we get the nod, we are hopeful of completing the work in four year’s time.Chennai Metro Rail ModelIn the Chennai model, the Centre and the state government will hold 15 percent each of the total stake. Apart from the 15 percent equity, subordinate debt will be contributed by the state and the Centre. It is usually in the ratio of 80:20. The balance would be in the form of loan from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).Project Cost and Land Acquisition According to the present estimate, the total project cost is calculated at Rs 5,126 crore. To make it more specific, upgraded project cost is Rs 4,910 crore and the government taxes are estimated at Rs 216 crore. This includes the cost of land acquisition which may come up to the tune of Rs 600 to Rs 700 crore. The currentestimate is a total of 32 hectares, including stations and parking spaces. Parking Lots for the Stations We will be looking at parking spaces wherever possible. Parking spaces are important for the people to access the metros. However, it won’t be possible everywhere. For instance, at a place like Madhava Pharmacy Junction, it is impossible to provide parking space. Also, we are thinking of linking up the metro with different modes. For instance, the Vyttila Mobility Hub will have a direct corridor from the metro. It will also be linked to the water body at the other side. Metro-related Projects We have already initiated two Metro-related projects, which include the reconstruction of the North railm over bridge and the construction of a new RoB near theKSRTC bus station. Both the works are progressing well. The other metro-related projects are also progressing. The demolition of the second bay of the North overbridge will begin once the resurfacing of the Chittoor Road is completed. We will need three more nights to repair the roads. The Kerala State Construction Corporation (KSCC) is doing the repair work for Kochi Metro Rail Ltd on a five-year guarantee basis. More Road Repair Works We have already undertaken the resurfacing of a total of 10 roads and the work was awarded to the KSCC. All these are corporation roads and the repair work comes under the budget of the corporation. But, we took it up at the request of the corporation.However, the Chitoor- Pachalam Road was not included in the list of 10 roads.In the case of that road, the corporation has already tendered it to a contractor who has also stacked the materials. Even so, the progression of work was too slow. So we decided to take it up. Once the repair work on the Chittor Road is completed, the demolition of the second bay will begin.Metro RouteAfter conducting several traffic studies and surveys we came to the conclusion that the maximum number of people in Kochi travel by this particular route and these two points, Petta and Aluva, are the most visited points. That does not mean that we have neglected areas like West Kochi .Those areas have a very good network of water ways. We are looking at augmenting the current metro by connecting it with the water ways. Whether the State will bear the lossWe have to look at ways by which it will not end up in a loss. We have to look at creating sufficient surplus. This kind of project cannot be built on classical financial models. Here we are looking at developing resources and infrastructure. When it comes to infrastructural development, we have to do it overlooking profit or loss. Besides when we say that countries do not generate profit out of the metro, what we mean is that it is not profitable by ridership. Apart from ridership we have to look at subsidising or cross subsiding the Metro. Some options are property development, transfer of development rights etc. Acceptance. There will be a certain amount of cannibalisation in the beginning. People like to experiment with a new transport system. The important thing is about providing them with more choice. For now, they have limited options. There is no transportation that can assure timely transport. So, I think the prospects of Metro Rail are bright as far as Kochi is concerned.
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