Kochi Metro Rail cost details submitted to PM

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A day after the high-level conference chaired by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy decided to push hard for the Kochi Metro Rail Project, the state has sent a detailed note to the Prime Minister’s Office, specifying the reworked modalities for the project.The estimated cost of the new proposal, which banks on the Chennai Metro Rail project model, has been pegged at Rs 4,427 crore which is more than double the estimated cost in 2005.The original project cost in 2005 was Rs 1,966 crore. “The revised proposal has been sent to the PMO. We are hoping to get the clearance at the earliest as the initial objection regarding the population of Kochi is no more being raised,” Tom Jose, Principal Secretary of Transport Department and Special Officer of Kochi Metro Project, told Express.The new model demands 15 percent Central equity. The state, too, will hold the same figure. The cost of the land for the project would cover five percent subordinate debt, which is usually the amount met by the govt as an interest-free loan to the company, would cover 11 percent and exemption of taxes for the materials for construction would cover another 3 percent, which would put the Centre-state share in the project at 49 percent.  On the other hand, the proposal says that 51 percent of the project cost would be met through loan from either Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) or from India Infrastructure Ltd, the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) floated by the Centre with a corpus of Rs 10,000 crore for infrastructure projects. “We are confident of drawing a loan from either of these agencies. We are insisting a Central equity in the project so that it would be easier to avail a JICA loan if the Centre is part of the project”, Tom Jose said. It has been estimated that 25 hectares of land would be required for the project out of which 15.9 hectares is private land. “Along with the land acquisition process, four-laning of the North over-bridge will also be initiated,’’ Tom Jose said. The state has also decided to form a separate company for the implementation of the project.