 "Chennai Metro")
With Guwahati city lacking an efficient public transportation system and the increasing traffic exerting pressure on the existing road network, the Assam government has planned to come up with a mass rapid transit system (MRTS) in the form of metro rail for the city within next five years.
Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi yesterday laid the foundation stone of the project, the detailed project report (DPR) of which was cleared by the state cabinet a few days back. The cabinet had also approved the formation of a special purpose vehicle (SPV), Guwahati Metro Rail Corporation Limited (GMRCL), for implementing the project.
The project is estimated to cost Rs 18,020 crore and has been prepared by RITES Limited, a government of India enterprise. The government of Assam and government of India will share 20 per cent each of the total cost, amounting to Rs 3,475 crore. Local bodies will contribute Rs 350 crore (2 per cent) towards project completion cost. The remaining project cost of Rs 10,074 crore (58 per cent) will be funded through soft loans from funding agencies with guarantee from the Government of India.
GMRCL will be a wholly-owned company of the government of Assam that will later be converted into a joint venture (50:50) SPV of Central and state governments. The SPV will look after operations and maintenance of the MRTS.
The 203-km metro corridor, to be completed in three phases, forecasts traffic demand up to the year 2045. The DPR for Phase I has been prepared for a total length 61.4 km. Under Phase I, there will be four corridors namely, Dharapur-Narangi (elevated) with a length 22.6 km, M.G. Road to Khanapara (underground) 10 km, Jalukbari to Khanapara (elevated) 19.4 km and ISBT to Paltanbazar (elevated) covering a stretch of 9.4 km. There will be altogether 54 stations across all the routes.
The train with three car racks will have a carrying capacity up to 975 passengers. The chief secretary of Assam will be the chairman of GMRCL and chief executive officer of Guwahati Municipal Development Authority (GMDA) will be its managing director.
