COIMBATORE: Almost a year after the state government announced its plan
to introduce Monorail transport corridor in the city, the municipal
corporation is finally gearing up towards this end. The corporation will
seek approval from the elected council in the next meeting to float
tenders for appointing consultants to prepare a detailed Project Report
pertaining to feasibility.

After obtaining the council’s green signal the proposal will be forwarded to Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services
Limited (TUFISIL) and a tender will be floated inviting proposals from
interested firms to quote their price for preparing the project report.

“We are planning to discuss the monorail project during the next corporation council meeting. It will be forwarded to Managing Director of TUFISIL after getting the council’s approval,” said TK Ponnusamy, Commissioner, Coimbatore Municipal Corporation.

The monorail is expected to be the biggest project implemented within
city limits. Corporation officials claimed that once the initial Project
Report is drafted based on a feasibility study, including route mapping
and land acquisition requirement, the project will begin.

“It
will be a complex process. We have to identify the most feasible routes
where the project could be implemented so that it could cater to maximum
people. The infrastructure requirements, including the beam support
line and stations along the path would also have to be identified. Land
acquisition must also be looked at,” Ponnusamy added.

The
corporation officials also added that only consultants with prior
experience in conceiving metro or monorail projects in other parts of
the country will be selected after scrutinizing the tenders. The initial
DPR prepared after conducting field study in the city would be
finalised only after seeking response and grievances from the public.

“The initial project report will be a provisional DPR and will be
finalised only after seeking the views of residents and other
stakeholders,” Ponnusamy said.

The cost estimate and other details about the project are expected to be finalised in the coming days. The AIADMK
government had announced a Monorail project for Coimbatore soon after
coming to power last year. The former DMK government had earlier
announced Metro rail network for Coimbatore and Madurai which now seems
to have been shelved.