Metro to airport in second phase

THE decision was taken on the recommendation of the DMRL which prepared the project report.

The state government will pay for the Metro corridor between Biodiversity Park and Shamshabad Airport as part of the second phase of the Hyderabad Metro Rail project. The cost of the other corridors of the second phase will be shared by the state and central governments.

Sources in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said that this decision was taken on the recommendation of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRL), which prepared the preliminary project report. The state government will decide finally at the next meeting of the state department.

The DMRL has estimated that the total project cost of the second phase will be `14,023 crore. This corridor connectivity to the airport, which the state government will pay for, will cost `4,645 crore.

Metro rail experts and Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMRL) authorities felt that since phase-II is being implemented in relatively less dense corridors than Phase-I corridors and since it is unlikely that private investors will fund the project given the overall national economic scenario, phase-II should be a government project.

They said among the identified phase-II corridors, the airport corridor from Biodiversity Park to Shamshabad Airport with extension of Corridor 3 from Raidurg to Biodiversity Park (30.7 km) is an immediate priority as metro connectivity to the airport will boost the image of Hyderabad as a global destination.