The Times of India 23.08.2012
Surat Municipal Corporation to have special purpose vehicle for Metro
SURAT: To make Metro rail project a reality in the city sooner then the expectations, local civic body has decided to seek approval from State government to call for expression of interest (EOI) in very near future. "With intent to build transport infrastructure for the future city, Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) has assigned priority to all the projects of this sector including proposed Metro rail and BRTS." said a top ranking officer from SMC.
"Our aim is top provide reliable, cost effective, efficient and
convenient public transport by allowing the city to grow horizontally so
that people can live more comfortably in little far away places and
thrive ." said Manoj Das municipal Commissioner . "This will reduce
congestion and density of population in urban part of the city." He
added. According to him once the DPR is prepared and EOI are called for a special purpose vehicle
will be formed for the Surat Metro rail which will govern all the
construction, building , running and maintenance issues related to metro
in the city.
It is very clear from the queries that civic
bodies receive that the enthusiasm among the people for Metro is
tremendous. "We receive at lease one serious inquiry from the concerned
party who wishes to jump in fray for the project on daily basis from
last one month." Said a top official on the condition of anonymity. "But
SMC is looking in terms of proven track record of setting up the metro
rail network in places like Japan, Singapore and some European
countries." He added At present nearly 180 cities of the world have
their own metro rails and in another 15 years time this number is likely
to reach 400.
In India at present only metro cities have metro
but the number is likely to triple as 12 second tier cities are given
permission to set up their own metro rails. Surat is looking at 100 km
of integrated metro rail line. The population of the twin cities of
Surat-Navsari is estimated at 1.20 crore in 2026. The project has a cost
bearing of Rs 150 crore per km for rail on ground, Rs 250 crore per km
on elevated corridor and Rs 400 crore per km in under ground section.
The city also plans to link BRTS to the proposed metro. The 100 km of metro rail will incur a cost of Rs 15,000 crore.
