Thiruvananthapuram: The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation – the consultant appointed by the state government for implementing ‘light metro’ train services in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode – is likely to pull out from the projects with the finance department insisting on PPP (Public-Private Partnership) mode for them. A DMRC official told DC that if the state government decides to adopt the hybrid PPP mode, the DMRC would abandon them.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has scheduled a meeting to finalise the project on May 18. The finance department has strongly recommended hybrid PPP mode, which moots 50-50 partnership between the government and the private party.
As per the plan, the state government will fund civil construction of the metro projects and the private party will fund the rest of the projects which include rolling stock and signalling. The private company will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the projects.
“DMRC is a professional agency and we know the rules of the game. We wouldn’t want to associate with these projects if they are executed under PPP mode. This will have an adverse impact on the project and the estimated project cost may go up,” said the official.
A senior official associated with the project said that the PPP mode was definitely not a good idea as both cities have less scope for real estate development.
“If the government goes for PPP mode, more land will be required for real estate development. It’s impossible to operate metros with ticket revenue alone. If a private party is involved, the government would be forced to acquire more land which could be costly. They could use the acquisition funds for implementing the project,” said the official.
