The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will extend a loan of Rs 20,196 crore for building over a 52-km stretch under Phase II of Chennai Metro Project, the Tamil Nadu state government said. In a statement, the government said the estimated cost of this length (35.67 km Madhavaram to Sholinganallur and 16.34 km Madhavaram to Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus) is Rs 40,941 crore.
The loan assistance from JICA will be Rs 20,196 crore. The loan agreement for providing the first tranche under the Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan of 75,519 Million Japanese Yen (approximately Rs 4,770 crore) between Government of India and JICA, the statement said.
Just earlier this week, the proposed Stage 4 of the Chennai Metro Rail faced stiff opposition from residents and private institutions in T Nagar as the planned corridors will need acquiring of private land from those residing there for decades.
Nearly 200 families and home-owners living in the highly-populated and central neighbourhood of Chennai are up in arms against the land acquisition for the proposed Kodambakkam Metro line and station. Parents and alumni of a private school in Nungambakkam are also protesting the use of their school’s land for the proposed Sterling Road Metro station.
In October, the CMRL ntroduced new updates to their app which will provide real-time information on all arrivals and delays of trains at all stations in the city. The app will also let you recharge your smart card and send complaints to metro authorities in case something goes wrong.
In May this year, two important metro rail lines and 4 stations were inaugurated in Chennai. The lines connected Central Chennai to Shenoy Nagar and AG-DMS to Little Mount in the heart of the city through Saidapet station.
While the 34 km-long network connects the heart of the city with areas far to the south and the west, the metro continues to see low footfall.
IANS inputs