KOCHI: The Kochi Metro Rail Limited has selected AECOM Consortium, formed by Aecom India Pvt. Ltd, Urban Mass Transit Company Ltd. and Zebec Marine Consultants Service Pvt Ltd, as the general consultant for the integrated water transport project. The work will be awarded to the consortium after the clearance from the funding agency KfW, the German bank. The consultant will be in charge of project management, planning and construction supervision of routes, boats, jetties and navigation and other technical operations. It will also supervise activities including dredging, construction of approach roads and associated infrastructure and jetty area development.
The firm is expected to review the detailed project report prepared by UMTC and suggest modifications. The other firms submitted request for proposals were Egis Consortium and INROS LACKNER SE Consortium. Initially, 15 bidders responded to the expression of interest and three consortiums were shortlisted who have been asked to submit the RFP. “With the selection of consultant, the project will gather momentum and we expect to finish the first phase of the project as per schedule,” said Elias George, managing director, KMRL.
The total cost of the project is Rs 747 crore, excluding Rs 72 crore for land acquisition, of which KfW would give a financial assistance to the extent of 85 million Euros, i.e. approximately Rs 597 crore as a long-term soft loan. Rs 102 crore would be contributed by the state government. The project envisages the development of 16 identified routes connecting 38 jetties across 10 islands and spans a total route network of 76 km. The project will be implemented in two phases and would be fully operational in four years.
