Kochi: A board of directors meet of the Kochi Metro Rail will be convened “at the earliest” to take up the “preliminary report” of RITES for discussion and approval, it was decided at a high-level meet attended by DMRC Principal Advisor E Sreedharan here on Wednesday.
The RITES report submitted on Tuesday recommended, among other things, extension of the Metro to Tripunithura in the first phase itself and estimated the cost at Rs 200 crore.
Sreedharan held discussions with the KMRL MD Elias George and RITES officials on various aspects of the report on Wednesday, especially on the route proposed for the second phase expansion.
Approval of the Union and State governments and that of the KMRL director board is mandatory before including the Pettah-Tripunithura extention in Phase 1 itself.
The RITES, in its report, had warned against further delay citing that only 59 per cent commuters depended on public transport in Kochi at present compared to 70 per cent 12 years ago.
The figure is likely to drop to 50 per cent unless mass rapid transport systems like Metro and monorail are introduced at the earliest.
Next: Mayor for Indo-french co-op meet
Mayor for Indo-french co-op meet
Kochi: Mayor Tony Chammany will attend the second steering committee on Indo-French Local Cooperation to be held in New Delhi on Thursday.
He will make a presentation on the ongoing partnership programme between Kochi and the French city of Lorient and the local urban scenario.
The two cities had signed an agreement for heritage conservation in September last year.
Apart from conserving heritage monuments, the programme also aims at restoring canals in the city, preparing detailed project reports for their conservation and also for drafting designs for canal front development.
The Indo-French Local Cooperation Steering Committee aims at facilitating support and technical expertise in urban planning and development for major Indian cities, from France.
Chammany’s presentation will also focus on issues related to climate change, the city’s need to have transportation facilities of international standards and the growing demand for a modern, well-networked sewage system.
