Amaravati Metro Rail Corporation Limited (AMRCL) Managing Director NP Ramakrishna Reddy on Friday said that the state had decided to go with a Light Metro in Vijayawada, that would extend up to the Gannavaram airport and Krishna Canal junction.
The MD issued a press release after reports stated that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the AMRC and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had been cancelled.
Reddy stated that the DMRC prepared a Detailed Project Report (DPR) which pointed out that a Light Metro was adequate for Vijayawada, but recommended a Medium Metro, as the capital city of Amaravati was being developed nearby.
The Hindu reported that the state government then submitted this DPR to the Centre, to get approval from the Finance Ministry.
However, in in May, 2017, the Union finance ministry refused to approve the Vijayawada Metro Rail, stating that the Centre did not find it financially viable.
As per the DPR, the expected Peak Hour Passenger Per Direction (PHPD) was projected as 6,366 by 2021-22 and the Financial Internal Rate of Return (FIRR) was 3.47%, which did not meet the Centre’s requirements for setting up a medium metro rail in Vijayawada, The Hindu report added.
The press release said that the MoU between the AMRC and DMRC had been mutually cancelled on October 4, after the project made no progress.
It added that a fresh DPR for Light Metro would now be prepared.
This also comes two months after India's 'Metro Man' E Sreedharan, who was working as an advisor to the Andhra Pradesh government on metro rail projects, had submitted his resignation to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
Confirming the same to The News Minute, 85-year-old Sreedharan had earlier said, "I tendered the resignation because of my old age, which has made it difficult for me to travel to Andhra Pradesh frequently. Besides that, the work pressure was also more."
Sreedharan, who was Principal Advisor, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), was in 2015 called in to oversee the Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada metro rail projects.
Reports suggested that Sreedharan resigned due to differences with the state government choosing the light metro rail. However, he denied it.