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The metro rail project will entail a cost of Rs 2,239 crore and the State Government is expecting a 20 per cent Central assistance.

Thiruvananthapuram , Aug. 31

THE State Cabinet has decided to take up the implementation of the Vizhinjam international container trans-shipment terminal and the Kochi metro rail project on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.

The Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy, said after the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday that an evaluation committee had been formed to examine the two bids that the Government had received for the development of the Vizhinjam terminal.

He said 22 companies had expressed interest, but only two of them submitted the bids. The Rs 4,360-crore terminal would be implemented in three phases and the work on the project would commence this year itself.

As for the Kochi metro rail project, the Chief Minister said that the Government decided on the BOT route after detailed discussions with experts from the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRT) led by its Chief Executive Officer, Mr E. Sreedharan.

The Government had two options — to implement the project as a State-sponsored venture, or go the BOT way. The DMRT chief preferred the second option.

The project would entail a cost of Rs 2,239 crore and the Government was expecting a 20 per cent Central assistance. For the purpose, the detailed project report would be submitted to the Centre.

Mr Chandy, who has completed one year in office as the Chief Minister, said that the Government was facing local elections, scheduled to be held next month, with utmost confidence. He was not worried that the performance of the Government would be one of the key issues in the elections.

He said that the Government had initiated many development programmes over the last one year. He was particularly satisfied that the delivery of welfare pensions had been streamlined in such a way that nearly 15 lakh beneficiaries would be able to get their social security doles on the first of every month.

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