Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched the civil construction work for the Kanpur Metro's priority section, from IIT-Kanpur to Moti Jheel, on Friday.
The chief minister launched the project after a "Bhoomi Pujan" at the main gate of IIT-K.
One of the most ambitious projects of the industrial city, it is expected to reduce the pollution levels, officials said.
Addressing the gathering, Adityanath said metro trains will soon run in Kanpur too, adding that he has instructed the authorities to complete the first phase of the work at the earliest.
Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC) Managing Director Kumar Keshav said preparations have been made to build the pillar of the metro overbridge from IIT to Kalyanpur in the first phase.
The feasibility study for the project was carried out by the Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) in June 2015, he said, adding that it was done to curb traffic congestion, which was hampering the growth, development and prosperity of Kanpur.
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"There is no problem in this two-kilometre stretch. The target is to complete the Metro project up to Moti Jheel in the next two years," Keshav said.
After the renaming of Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation Limited as Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Limited, the civil construction work for the priority corridor had now begun, a press release issued by UPMRC's public relations department said.
The contract to build the viaduct of an 8.728-km-long elevated section of the priority corridor was awarded to Afcons Infrastructure Ltd on September 13 and the piling work began in full swing from Friday, Keshav said.
The corridor was expected to be completed by December 2021, he added.
The 8.728-km-long priority section will have eight stations -- IIT-Kanpur, Kalyanpur Railway Station, SPM Hospital, CSJM University, Gurudev Chauraha, Geeta Nagar, Rawatpur Railway Station, Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital (Moti Jheel).
The estimated expenditure for the section is about Rs 2,000 crore and it is expected that metro operations on the priority corridor will commence within two years.
The UPMRC had earlier completed the work of the Lucknow Metro North-South Corridor project within a record time of four-and-a-half years, the fastest ever constructed and executed metro rail project in the country.
Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri also attended the inauguration programme.