Andhra government to go for re-tendering for Vizag metro rail

 The Visakhapatnam Metro Rail Project got a fresh impetus on Monday with the State government going for re-tendering for it.
Image used for representational purposes (File Photo | DMRC)
Image used for representational purposes (File Photo | DMRC)

VISAKHAPATNAM:  The Visakhapatnam Metro Rail Project got a fresh impetus on Monday with the State government going for re-tendering for it. A GO was issued cancelling the bid received from Essel Infra Consortium for the rail project as it was the single tender for it.Further, not much cost reduction was offered by the bidder. The project scope has increased substantially in the wake of the new requirements indicated by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy during a review meeting on September 3. The government has also decided to appoint a new consultant for the preparation of revised detailed project report (DPR) for the rail project through an open tender. 

When contacted by TNIE, Amaravati Metro Rail Project Corporation (AMRC) Managing Director NP Ramakrishna Reddy said as directed by the government, they are going for re-tendering for the Visakhapatnam Metro Rail Project.In the first phase of the 140 km rail project, the development of a 46 km route will be completed. The remaining 94 km route will be taken up in subsequent phases, he said. 

Besides, as per the suggestions of the Chief Minister during the review meeting, the metro rail project will be extended up to Bhogapuram in north and Anakapalle in south and it will also cover Pendurthi. Once the DPR is ready, they will invite tenders for the extended areas, he said. Initially, it was proposed to develop the metro rail corridor from Gajuwaka to Kommadi (42.55 km) in the first phase. Now, it will be extended up to the steel plant, which is an increase of 3 km route. 

‘Vizag metro rail will be better than Hyderabad’

“As it will be taken up under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode, the project will not put much financial burden on the government,” he observed. As part of the first phase of the project, the metro works for 46.42 km will be taken up in three corridors and they include from the steel plant to Kommadi via Gajuwaka, NAD, Gurudwara and Hanumanthawaka (34.23 km), from Gurudwara to old post office (5.26 km) and from Tatichetlapalem to Ramakrishna Beach (6.91 km).

It was proposed to complete the first phase of the project by 2020-24. In the second phase,  metro works for 77.31 km will be taken up from Kommadi to Bhogapuram via Anandapuram, NAD to Pendurthi,  from the steel plant to Anakapalle, from the old post office to Rushikonda beach. In the third phase, 16.4 km metro works will be taken up from Rushikonda Beach to Bheemili Beach. Ramakrishna said the Visakhapatnam metro rail project will be better than Hyderabad metro in several aspects and it will be taken up with ` 8,300 crore. Initially, the frequency will be one train for every 10 minutes. 

Capital: no Centre’s  intervention 
Vijayawada: A day after party Rajya Sabha MP Sujana Chowdary said that the Centre is against the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government’s three-capital proposal and it would intervene in the issue if needed, BJP national spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao has made it clear that the Centre will not, in any circumstances, intervene or interfere in the State capital issue. “I am telling this as the spokesperson of the party, the Centre will not be interfering in the issue,’’ he asserted.

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