Bus Rapid Transit System To Coimbatore????
The Union Government has decided to clear the Chennai Metro Rail Project (CMRP) over the next two weeks at a total cost of Rs 14,600 crore for a distance of 46 kms of rail line. "About 60 per cent of the cost will be funded in the form of soft loans by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the rest would be shared between State and Central Governments, Union Urban Development Minister, Jaipal Reddy said here on Friday. Reddy was speaking at the CII Conference on Urbanisation-Providing affordable housing to all.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corp Ltd has prepared a detailed project report (DPR) of the CMRP, with the creation of two initial corridors -- the first 23.085 kms covering the area from Washermanpet to the airport and the second 21.961 kms encompassing Chennai Central to St Thomas Mount. The State Government had earlier created a special purpose vehicle, Chennai Metro Rail Ltd, for implementing the project. The Metro project is slated for completion by 2014-15. Delhis BRTS (bus rapid transit system) should also be emulated in tier II cities like Coimbatore as it is a cheap and efficient public transport system, Reddy said.
Reddy also announced that the 100 million litre per day (MLD) desalination plant for Chennai would be cleared by the Central Government in the next two weeks. The detailed project report of the plant to be set up on 40.05 acres of land to meet the long term drinking water requirements of Chennai city was submitted to the Ministry of Urban Development earlier this year. The project cost of the 100 MLD desalination plant at Nemmeli, 37 kms from Chennai will be over Rs 900 crore. The Government of India will give a grant subsidy of Rs 870 crore (90 per cent) for it, Reddy said. The rest is expected to be borne by the State Government.
