The state cabinet on Wednesday accorded administrative sanction for the revised estimate of Rs 1,957.05 crore for the new line of Kochi Metro from JLN Stadium to Kakkanad.
The delay in land acquisition and commencement of the works have already caused the escalation of the entire project cost. The cabinet’s decision to grant approval for the revised estimate is expected to speed up the works on the second phase of the Metro line.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid foundation stone for the 11.2km-long Phase II corridor of the Kochi Metro on September 1 last year. Though KMRL authorities earlier announced that the construction of the line would begin in January, the works are yet to begin.
As KMRL scrapped the tendering process for the general consultancy (GC) contract for the second phase work last week, there were concerns that the further delay in the work would cause cost escalation of the project.
KMRL cancelled the tendering process as the bid of Systra MVA, which emerged as the lowest bidder, was significantly higher than the original estimate. KMRL will invite a fresh tender for general consultants once again. The re-tender process would take one more month as the entire process of tender would be repeated once more.
There would be a total of 11 stations along the Phase II corridor.