Pre-construction Activities of Airport Metro in full swing

HYDERABAD: With a view to expediting the grounding of Airport Metro works, a number of pre-construction activities have been taken up in parallel processing mode and they are being carried out at a fast pace, according to MD of Hyderabad Airport Metro Ltd (HAML) NVS Reddy.

While the last date for submission of bids for the General Consultant (GC) is January 20 and these expert engineering consultants will be in board by early next month, parallelly survey work to fine-tune the metro alignment and station locations is in full swing. The survey work is being done by using both the satellite-based Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) and the Electronic Total Station with builtin programs for more accuracy and capturing of accurate coordinates.

The survey has so far covered 21 km up to Fort Grand underpass near Shamshabad town and it will be completed by this month-end. Thereafter, peg marking of the alignment will start, says NVS Reddy.

While the DPR has followed a typical railway engineering method to identify the station locations, an innovative approach is now being adopted by taking cognizance of the massive commercial and residential developments that have taken place in the last few years in Nanakramguda, Financial District, Kokapet, Narsingi, Rajendranagar and Shamshabad areas; HMDA’s master plan for development of this part of the city and its outskirts to determine the station locations.

This is in tune with Chief Minister K Chandraskhar Rao's vision of dispersal of the city's growth to it's outskirts and providing affordable housing within a commute distance of less than half an hour to work places, the MD says. Actively involving the local traffic police inspectors in the traffic survey is yielding good results in identifying the ideal station locations and making the station access facilities cost effective, Reddy points out.