KTR seeks Centre's approval for BHEL-Lakdikapul Metro Project

HYDERABAD: Telangana Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) Minister KT Rama Rao on Monday requested the Central Government to grant in-principle approval for the Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase -II Project from BHEL to Lakdikapul, which is a jointly owned project of the Government of India (GoI) and the Government of Telangana State (GoTS) with external financial assistance.

In a letter to Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister KTR requested that the proposal be included in the GoI's upcoming budget for the fiscal year 2023-24. The proposed new Metro Line will be 26 kilometres long with 23 stations.

The MA&UD Minister requested a meeting with the Union Minister to discuss the project. To avoid delays in processing, Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) of the project (as prepared by DMRC) and other related documents were sent to GoI by the Telangana Governmemt on October 27, 2022, the Minister added.

The Minister said that as Hyderabad is the fastest growing Metropolitan city in terms of quarterly and year on year growth of real estate sector especially since 2019-20. With the opening up of all the offices in post-COVID scenario, the need for expansion and strengthening of public transportation system needs no emphasis, he added.

The Phase-I of the Hyderabad Metro Rail Project spanning over 69 kilometers was successfully implemented and fully operational. Incidentally, it is the world's largest Metro Rail Project in PPP mode under the VGF scheme of GoI, he said.