Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Airport Metro Limited (HAML) has decided to change the alignment of the Airport Express Metro line, as it is expected to cost the government Rs 1,250 crore more.
An officials aid of the HAML, which is building a 31-kilometre high-speed link between Mindspace junction and the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Shamshabad, said the project's initial cost was Rs 5,000 crore but ahd risen to Rs 6,250 crore due to inflation. The official told Deccan Chronicle that the Metro stations specified in the previous Detailed Project Report (DPR) would be changed, and the locations of stations were yet to be finalised.
The official told Deccan Chronicle that the Metro stations specified in the previous Detailed Project Report (DPR) would be changed, and the locations of stations were yet to be finalised.
The GMR Group, which operates the RGIA, will invest about Rs 500 crore in the project.
According to an Airports Economic Regulatory Authority consultation paper on the tariff revision for the third control period (April 2021 to March 2026) proposed by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd, the aerodrome operator will invest Rs 519.52 crore by 2024. This would be about 10 per cent of the project cost.
The plan calls for the construction of an eight-kilometre alignment as well as the construction of three stations within the RGIA grounds. The Airport Metro Link Special Purpose Vehicle-HAML would be in charge of the development, construction, operation, and management of the Airport Metro link.
When asked about the price increase while the DPR of the project remained the same, a senior HAML official told Deccan Chronicle that the previous project submitted was three years old, and the project cost had escalated due to inflation and rise in steel and cement prices.
He also stated that the nodal agency has decided to change the DPR and relocate all of the stations. According to the existing DPR, the stations were proposed at Biodiversity Junction, Nanakramguda, Narsingi, TS Police Academy, Rajendranagar, Shamshabad, Airport Cargo, and Airport Terminal.
