Bhubaneswar, Oct 7 : Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik will lay the foundation stone of Rs 5,929 crore Bhubaneswar Metro Rail project on January 1 next year.
Odisha government will bear the entire cost of the project which will be executed by Bhubaneswar Metro Rail Corporation under 5T initiative of the state government.
Patnaik on Saturday reviewed the status of Phase I of Bhubaneswar Metro project which will connect Bhubaneswar Airport to Trisulia Square with a total 20 stations. The subsequent phases of the Metro project will connect other growth centers in and around Bhubaneswar.
A sum of Rs. 210 Crore has been provided in the Supplementary Budget for the current financial year.
Bhubaneswar Metro Rail Corporation, a fully owned company of Government of Odisha has been newly incorporated under the Companies Act and the Company has started functioning.
A High Level Committee under the chairmanship of Development Commissioner-cum-ACS has been constituted for overseeing the expeditious engagement of an executing agency for the project.
The entire alignment of the Metro project from Trisulia Square to Bhubaneswar Airport will be on an elevated structure and will run on the median/side of the existing roads, with 20 stations.
The stations will cover important places like Nandankanan, KIIT Square, Damana Square, Jaydev Vihar, Vani Vihar, Ram Mandir, Bhubaneswar Railway Station, Bapuji Nagar, Sishu Bhawan and Capital Hospital.
The project work will be started soon and is targeted for completion within 48 months.
The Chief Minister directed all the agencies to work in close coordination and ensure timely completion of the project.
Bhubaneswar will join the select group of top cities in the country with a metro rail system. This project will further strengthen the public transport in the city and enable the economic growth of the city.
The route has been selected to decongest the main roads and benefit the maximum number of daily commuters.
Odisha Housing and Urban Development Minister Usha Devi, Development Commissioner Anu Garg, Principal Secretary HUD Mathivathanan, 5T Secretary V K Pandian and senior officials were present during the meeting.
