The second phase of the Chennai Metro, which spans nearly 120 kilometres, is likely to be completed by 2026, The New Indian Express has reported.
According to the portal, the Detailed Project Report for the second phase, prepared by the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), says the construction of the corridor will begin by December 2019 and be completed in six to seven years.
CMRL officials have told The Hindu that tenders will be called for by June or July.
“Since the election code of conduct will be in place soon and continue till the elections are over, the tendering process can take place only after that. By the time the tendering process is over, it may be early January and a month or two later, the construction will begin. From the time of construction beginning, it will take six years to finish the work and start operations,” an official said.
For the project, which will be implemented on the Public Private Participation, model escalation will be considered at five per cent per annum starting December 2018. However, no escalation is being considered on land cost.
The second phase of the project is divided into three segments — Madhavaram to Shollinganallur, Light House to Poonamallee and Madhavaram to SIPCOT. Of this, 76.3 km will be elevated and 42.6 km will be built underground.
According to reports, a large part of the second phase will be built on land that is already owned by the government. In total, the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) would need nearly 121 hectares of land for the project.
A majority of this land, at least 93.79 hectares, is government-owned. The remaining land, 27.19 hectares, will have to be acquired from private players.
Moreover, CMRL has brought down the average size of each station from 220 metres in the first phase to 150 metres in the second phase.
The benefit of using government land is that the project will be insulated from delays and cost overruns during land acquisition.
Also, CMRL will save the money that it would have otherwise spent on resettlement, rehabilitation, and compensation for the affected people.