Prelim report on Metro expansion to be ready soon

Hyderabad: After the Telangana cabinet approved a proposed expansion of the Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) by over 300 km at an estimated cost of Rs 69,100 crore to be implemented in under five years, HMRL managing director NVS Reddy on Tuesday said that preliminary project report will be submitted within four months and also Detailed Project Report (DPR) will be submitted soon.

The HMRL MD stressed that Rs 69,100 crore is not an underestimation of costs. “Due to the elevated nature of our Metro, we can construct at Rs 200 crore to Rs 300 crore per km when compared to Mumbai, Chennai or Bengaluru which would require anywhere between Rs 600 crore to Rs 1,000 crore per km because of underground stretch. That half of the project would require no acquisition of properties as a 25-metre right of way has already been dedicated along 156 km of the Outer Ring Road (ORR) for Metro rail. To minimise cost at these stretches, the height of the viaduct could be kept low at 3 metre above ground level and at grade level whenever possible, he said.

Speaking to the media, MD stated, “We are at a very initial stage. We expect to submit the preliminary project report in about four months. There will be changes after the preparation of the Detailed Project Report. At this stage, we cannot say anything in detail. The expansion is likely to be a government-funded project unlike Phase 1 which was a public-private partnership; unless decided otherwise by the government.”