Visakhapatnam Metro Rail to be opened in 2024, officials to roll out DPR soon

The government is preparing to launch a metro train on the Visakhapatnam coast. In this backdrop, DPR for light metro rail and modern tram corridors is being prepared by Urban Mass Transist Company while Amravati Metro Rail Corporation is busy preparing the estimated cost of the project. According to the assumption, the tram corridor is expected to cost only Rs 100 to Rs 120 crore. The total construction of 79.91 km of light metro project is estimated to cost around Rs 16,000 crore and construction of 60.20 km of tram corridor is estimated to cost Rs 7,320 crore.

However, officials have estimated that the construction of the tram corridor will be less expensive compared to the Light Metro. UMTC has agreed to report the DPR for the Light Metro to the government by the end of November and the DPR for the tram corridor will be submitted to the government by the end of December. It is revealed that the DPR would be prepared keeping in view of needs of next thirty years.

On the other hand, details of the tram are being collected from projects in Brazil, Spain, Dubai and France and officials believe that there will be slight changes in these estimated costs if the DPR is prepared.

If the DPRs for the light metro and modern tram corridors are completed by the end of this year, the government plans to go for bidding as soon as they are studied. If all goes as planned, the agreement regarding the works will be completed by March 2021 and the works of the Light Metro Corridor will start by June 2021. It is expected that by March 2024 there is a chance that the Metro train will run from a corridor in the Light Metro.