Hyderabad Metro to be developed as a roll model:CM

Hyderabad|India|July'2010: Chief Minister Dr.K.Rosaiah said that the proposed Metro Rail Project in Hyderabad would be developed as a roll model in the country and it would be of world class. He said that the problems encountered in the 1st phase as well as the good practices and experiences of the Delhi Metro Rail project would be kept in mind while taking up the Hyderabad Metro. Larsen & Toubro, the lowest bidder has a very good reputation globally and we will try to complete the Hyderbad Metro project on schedule, the Chief Minister said.

Accompanied by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation directors Mr.Mangu Singh (Director,Works) and Mr.Raj Kumar (Director, Operations) and other senior officials, the Chief Minister has visited Delhi Metro system today to have a feel of the facilities and commuter experience.

The Chief Minister travelled by Delhi Metro Rail from Central Secretariat to Rajiv Chowk in underground, from Rajiv Chowk to Ramakrishna Asram Marg on elevated bridge and from Ramakrishna Asram Marg to Patel Chowk both on elevated and underground. Chief Minister also visited Delhi Metro Rail Exhibition after de- boarding at Patel Chowk Metro station and addressed the media.

The Chief Minister said that Hyderabad is one of the fastest expanding cities and traffic congestion continues to be one of the bottlenecks for its quick development since it is now regarded as one of the international cities. He said it is one of the most prestigious projects of the State Government and is very particular to complete it right on schedule.

Hyderabad Metro Rail is a totally elevated Metro system with state of the art features including foolproof signaling system; air conditioned coaches, stations with escalators and lifts, and air conditioned feeder bus services to provide a comfortable and seamless travel facility for the commuters.

Conveying the wide acclaim by national and international investors over the transparent bid process and the happiness of the people of Andhra Pradesh about the outcome, Chief Minister Dr.K.Rosaiah thanked UPA Chairperson Mrs.Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minisiter Dr.Manmohan Singh, Urban Development Minister Mr.S.Jaipal Reddy, Finance Minister Mr.Pranab Mukherjee and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Mr.Montek Singh Ahluwalia for their encouragement, guidance and Central financial support by sanctioning viability gap funding of Rs.2,363 crore for the project.

The successful bid process of Hyderabad Metro has come for special appreciation during the National Development Council meeting in Delhi. Several Chief Ministers went over to Dr.K.Rosaiah and congratulated him on the success. They have indicated that Hyderabad Metro will become the role model for other Indian cities.

With a resolve to build Hyderabad Metro to global standards in a time bound manner, the Chief Minister is personally monitoring the preparatory activities of the project for commencing the ground works by January 2011. He has also instructed the officials to take all precautions to minimize inconvenience to road users during the construction period.

A three member Evaluation Committee consisting of Hyderabad Metro Rail MD Mr.N.V.S.Reddy, Water Board MD Mr. M.Jagadeeshwar and Finance Secretary Mr.T.Satyanarayana Rao has since evaluated the financial bids and submitted it’s recommendations to the government. After examination by Law and Finance departments, the Committee’s recommendations will be placed in the next cabinet meeting for awarding the project to the lowest bidder.

Apart from providing a permanent solution for the traffic congestion and high pollution levels in the city, the project will generate mammoth economic activity in and around Hyderabad. It will provide employment for about 5,000 engineers and about 45,000 skilled and unskilled workers. The Chief Minister hoped that with a requirement of about 26 lakh tonnes of cement, 2 lakh tonnes of steel and 58 lakh cubic meters of concrete, the project will result in establishment of many ancillary industries and machinery manufacturing and servicing units around Hyderabad, giving fillip to developmental activities in various parts of Telangana region.

The Rs.12,132 crore Hyderabad Metro Rail project covers three high density traffic corridors of Hyderabad spanning over 71km (1) Miyapur-LB Nagar (28.87 km); (2) JBS-Falaknuma (14.78 km); & (3) Nagole-Shilparamam (27.51 km). The Project has been undertaken by Government to address the increasing traffic congestion and pollution levels in the city.

As the previous Concessionaire, Maytas Metro Ltd., failed to achieve Financial Closure by the due date, the Concession Agreement with it was terminated by Government in July 2009. The bid security of Rs.60 crore along with Rs.11 crore paid by them was forfeited and global bids were invited through fresh pre-qualification. Six pre-qualified companies/consortia, viz., Larsen & Toubro Ltd; Lanco Infratech Ltd – OHL Concesiones (Spain) consortium; Reliance Infrastructure - Reliance Infocomm consortium; Essar – Leighton (Australia) – Gayatri – VNR consortium; Transstroy - OJSC Transstroy (Russia) - CR 18 (China) - BEML consortium; & Soma – Strabag AG (Austria) consortium purchased the bid documents and three of them participated in financial bids which were opened on July 14, 2010. Larsen & Toubro has become the lowest bidder, seeking a grant of Rs.1,458 crore. While the second lowest bidder Transstroy led consortium sought a grant of Rs.2,200 crore, the third bidder Reliance (ADAG) sought a grant of Rs.2,991 crore.

-July'' 2010