SmartCity, Infopark to have Metro links

KOCHI: The French development agency, AFD, focused on the need to prevent climate change through sustainable mobility plan, and the possibility to implement such programmes in Kochi during the talks held with the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) on Friday.
They explored the possibilities of launching pilot projects in the city. Such a programme will be implemented considering all aspects of the city, including its sewage and solid waste treatment facilities.
“A project report will be prepared after the city implements a few basic infrastructure development works,” said a source.
Meanwhile, the representatives of the French agency also suggested linking of the Metro with Infopark and SmartCity at Kakkanad. They held talks with top officials, including chief secretary Jiji Thomson and Infopark CEO Hrishikesh Nair. The team inspected the proposed route from Kakkanad to Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium.
The visiting delegates discussed the second phase development plans of Infopark and SmartCity, and the number of commuters to these regions in 2020. “Chief secretary has ensured that a decision to extend Metro to SmartCity will be taken once the alignment is fixed. They have started measures to fix the alignment,’’ said a SmartCity official.