Union Minister Vyalar Ravi said "sanctioning of the Kochi Metro project is a major step in the development of Kerala".
The Cabinet gave its go-ahead to the fully-elevated link, covering 25 km from Alwaye to Petta with 23 stations, today and a formal announcement would be made tomorrow.
The proposal that had been put forward by the Urban Development Ministry for the cabinet's consideration had suggested starting the Kochi metro network as a 50:50 partnership between the Centre and the state government, it was learnt.