AP CM makes request again to Centre over Vijaywada & Vizag Metro rail

The Andhra Pradesh government has made a fresh plea to the Centre for the construction of metro rail projects in Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam.

The plea was submitted by state Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during their meeting in New Delhi earlier this week.

According to PTI, Naidu told the Prime Minister that “a specific road map and an action plan has to be drawn and implemented” without further loss of time.

Both the projects are being overseen by the Amaravati Metro Rail Corporation (AMRC).

The Vijayawada Metro Rail project took shape in June 2014 when a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) was formed.

In October last year, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the AMRC and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) was reportedly cancelled, after the AMRC proposed a Light Metro Rail (LRT), in line with the Centre’s suggestion, while the DMRC proposed a medium metro rail

The AMRC had made the proposal after the Union finance ministry refused to approve the Vijayawada Metro Rail in May this year, stating that the Centre did not find it financially viable.

India's 'Metro Man' E Sreedharan, who was working as an advisor to the Andhra Pradesh government on both metro rail projects, had submitted his resignation to Naidu last year, further complicating things.

“We are now getting a DPR prepared for the LRT. A consortium led by French firm Systra has been engaged for this while KfW of Germany is funding it. Once the DPR is ready, we will submit it to the Centre for approval,” AMRC Managing Director N P Ramakrishna Reddy told PTI.

As far as the Vizag Metro Rail is concerned, the project's first phase is projected to cover a distance of 42.54 km from Gajuwaka to Kommadi, under the limits of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC).

"As far as the Vizag metro is concerned, it has already been decided to move forward with the PPP model," Reddy had told TNM earlier.

The filing of bids for the project is expected to close by February-end.