'Koz light metro works can be started in nine months'

Kozhikode: The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) principal adviser E Sreedharan expressed confidence that if things go as per plan the construction of the Kozhikode light metro project can be started in nine months and the whole project can be commissioned within four years after the commencement of works.
Delivering the keynote address at the 19th annual management convention of the Calicut Management Association (CMA) here on Saturday, he said that Japan was prepared to give a soft loan which will cover as much as 85% of the cost of the light metro project estimated to be Rs 2,078 crore.
Stating that the project can be implemented without causing any burden to the state government, he said that as per the suggested funding proposal the Kerala government will have to spend only Rs 400 crore.
"The central government has to spend Rs 300 crore and all the rest we can get from Japan as a soft loan with an interest rate of just 0.3% and with a moratorium of ten years. We can get a repayment period of 30 years beyond that which can be the most economical and easy way of implementing the project," he said.
Sreedharan said that the state has accepted the proposal and sent it to the government of India (GoI) for in-principle approval.
"The only condition that DMRC put in the proposal was that it should be a joint venture. If GoI is there then will be checks and counter- checks. We insisted on a JV as if it is a state government venture it could go the KSRTC way with over staffing and no control of expenditure and government having to subsidise it," he said adding that they were expecting GoI clearence in a month.
Sreedharan said that the 14.4km project from Medical College to Meenchanda will have 14 stations and initially the train is proposed to have only two coaches.
It can be run as frequent as 90 seconds if needed which will provide a capacity to carry 30,000 people per hour per direction which exceeds the estimated traffic demand of the city even in the year 2050.
Sreedharan said that DMRC which recently signed an interim consultancy agreement with Kerala Rapid Transit Ltd (KRTL) has started the preparatory works for the light metro project.
One of the main preparatory works, the Panniyankara ROB can be commissioned in June 2016, he said.
Sathish Kumar, president of Calicut Management Association, presided over the function.