The News Minute | November 6, 2014 | 9:45 am IST
The port city of Visakhapatnam is planning to build its own metro rail and has roped in “Metro man” E. Sreedharan as the principal advisor for the project.
Popularly known as the “Metro man”, he is known for changing the face of public transport in India during his stint as the managing director of the Delhi Metro from 1995 to 2012.
When asked about the Vizag metro, Sreedharan told The News Minute that, “We have finalized on 3 overhead corridors and we have submitted the proposal to the Municipal Corporation.”
Addressing the media yesterday, he said that they would prepare initial studies in the coming 3-4 months. He also added that the state government has mandated it to complete construction of the project in the next three years.
Vizag is planning an overhead or elevated metro rail system instead of the underground one as it costs a substantial 300 crore lesser while compared to the 500 crore of the underground system per kilometer.
The potential new corridors is likely be: Maddilapalem to Gajuwaka or Kurmanapalem via Dondaparthi, Akkayapalem, Malkapuram and RTC Complex to Old City via Post Office, Jagadamba Junction.
Mr Sreedharan also said they would consider the intensity of previous cyclones in the region and design corridors as per the standards stipulated.