Kochi Metro gets a boost with Rs.462-crore allocation.

The Rs. 5,537-crore Kochi Metro Rail project has been allotted Rs.462.17 crore in recently interim Union Budget.

Of this Rs. 233.43 crore will be given as equity contribution and Rs. 66.95 crore as interest-free subordinate debt while Rs.161.79 crore will be loan.

'We are very happy to note that Kochi Metro's fund requirements have been adequately met in the Union Budget,' said Mr. Elias George, Managing Director of Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL).

This allocation is Rs. 332.17 crore more than that in the 2013 budget. In the revised estimate for 2013-14, an additional provision of Rs. 20 crore towards equity is also made, says a KMRL press release.

The State and Central governments are expected to pool in Rs. 753.73 crore each for the project.

The loan expected from French external lending agency AFD is approximately Rs.1,500 crore and that from Canara Bank is Rs.1,170 crore. The State had earmarked Rs.242.47 crore for augmenting roads and bridges in the city as part of metro’s preparatory works - building A.L. Jacob bridge, rebuilding North bridge and widening Banerjee Road, MG Road and South railway station approach road.

Additional funds are expected for Pachalam overbridge, the latest addition to the list.

THE HINDU