Hyderabad Metro to finalise vendors in two months

Hyderabad, May 1 (IANS) Larsen and Toubro Metro Rail (Hyderabad), a subsidiary of L&T Infrastructure Development Projects, will finalise in the next two to three months vendors for various components of the Rs.16,375 crore Hyderabad metro rail project, described as the world's largest metro project under public-private partnership.

Vivek B. Gadgil, chief executive and managing director of L&T Metro Rail told reporters Tuesday that vendors for rolling stocks, signalling, telecommunications, automation for collection of fares and lifts and elevators for stations would be finalized.

He said the company had received technical inputs from all vendors and the negotiations with them were at a critical stage.

Four major vendors, including Bombardier, a Spanish firm and China CSR Corporation and BEML-Rotem consortium have been shortlisted for the rolling stocks.

The company plans to execute Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) along the 72-km elevated corridors and depots. Out of 18.5 million sq ft space, six million sq ft would be commercially used for office space, shopping malls and retail.

It also plans to make commercial use of air space. The project on three high density corridors with 66 elevated metro stations is expected to be completed in five years.

The company has already started construction of piers at a few places. It has also submitted a detailed traffic plan to the state government to ease the traffic during construction work. "We will try to ensure as least disturbances to traffic and public life as possible but there are going to be disturbances," Gadgil said.

While the metro can be operated at a speed of 80 km per hour, it will not run at more than 40 kmph considering the nature of the terrain and the fact that 50 percent of alignment is on curves and there will be a station after a distance of every one km.

Gadgil said the cost was dynamic parameter and hence, it was extremely difficult to predict what would be the exact cost of implementation.

He promised that it would be one of the best metros in the world with advanced signalling technology. "We have Hong Kong and Paris metros as the bench mark," he said.

The company has almost completed land acquisition. The government has earmarked 57 acres of land for the project at 25 places around the track and at stations and depots. While 70 percent of the land will be used for stations, the rest will be utilized for transit oriented development.

The company, which achieved the financial closure in April last year, has so far invested about Rs.500 crore.

While the equity for the project will be Rs.3,439 crore, a consortium of banks will provide loans of Rs.11,478 crore and the government grant in the form of viability gap funding will be Rs.1,458 crore.