A.P. examining feasibility of electric busway Metro raildelay forces government to look for alternative

V. RAGHAVENDRA vrJevewepe Nearly 2l months after ob- On the fast track taining an in-principle Cent- . Etectric busway estimated ral clearance for the Vijay- to cost around t2,OO0 Cr awada metro rail, the State exctusive of tand cost government has started ex- . Cost of metro raitway arhining an electric metro pegged at nearly tZ20O cr busway and a hybrid model . comprising part rail and bus Central and State govemments to modes as potential alternat- invest about ives to the rail-based com- tl,075 cr to connect Pandit for additional muter system apparently and {3,-l35 cr Nehru Bus Station Central government due to the inordinate delay respectivety with Penamatur and in taking the metro railway Nidamanur, assistance as o AFD and KfW beyond the conceptual a distance of an'e)demaliy- committed to 26 km aided project' sta8e. investing nearty Oflicials of the tl,860 cr . lt can be extended Metro Rail Corporation Lim- ' uptoairportandAmaravati . Vljayaupda mero qralrfres ited (AMRCL), who have at minimum extra cost already studied some suc- cessful electric bus systems abroad, are cording to AMRCL Managing port Policy, a metro railway waiting for an audience with Director N.P. Ramakrishna ought to have a population Chief Minister N. Chandrab- Reddy. of at least 20 lakh and the abu Naidu to discuss the ad- Mr. Reddy told The Hindu PPHPD should be 2O,OOO vantages of the e-metro that the Rail and FIRR more than 8% but busway and the other mod- Corporation, which was ap- the metro comes els, after which he is expec- pointed the consultant for nowhere near those figures, ted to share his views with E. Vijayawada, submitted the having a population ofabout Sreedharan, advisor for the Detailed Project Report ll lakh as per the 2O11 Vijayawada and Visakhapat- (DPR) inJune 2Ol5 but there Census and the PPHPD and nam railway projects. had since been no significant FIRR hovering around 6,0OO progress except in inviting and 3.5%. The PPHPD.might Stunblingblocks tenders, whose two-time at best reach 16,000 in both The objections raised by'the cancellation due to quoting the corridors by 2050. Un- NITI Aayog on the popula- of excess amounts by pro- less these things are sorted tion, peak passengers-per- spective bidders came as a out, the project will not hour-per-direction (PPHPD) temporary setback. make any movement. and Financial Internal Rate Land acquisition has been "The Chief Minister is ofReturn (FIRR) criteria and another problem with farm- pursuing the matter with the the delay on the part ofthe ers refusing to give their Centre. Meanwhile, he has Public Investment Board holdings for the construc- asked us to work out altern- (Ministry of Finance) in giv- tion of the coach depot at atives. We have studied the ing its nod to the funding of- Nidamanur in about 60 electric busways in china fers by the,French govern- acres. and some other countries. ment's public financial On the project criteria, They are cost-effective and institution AFD and the Ger- Mr. Reddy said as per the will be sufficient to meet our man development bank I(W guidelines laid down under transportation require- pre the stumblingblocks, ac- the National Urban Trans* ments," c[ffi ffi Mr. Reddy observed. :..-"fu^- 2z-6-

IN BRIEF private Godavari water to reach Airports in sector at Krishna district today

District Cottector B. Lakshmi Kantham totd officiats Amaravati, Y izag: Naidu through a video-confercnce that Godavari water wou[d enter (rishna distrid from Lays stone for a functional one at Orvakal; tommon man stands to gain Pattiseema on.lune 22. He asked the officials to make SPECIIT COTIESPOIIDENT arrangements for the smooth ii xool reLease of water at the gates Airports better than the one and atert the tashkars about in Hyderabad would come it. Water Resources Minister up at Amaravati and vi oeiineni Umamaheswara Rao sakhapatnam ill the pdvate and top officials of the sector, Chief Minister N. departmentwoutd perform chandrababu Naidu an- ritua15 at the point of entry at nounced at Orvakal on wed- Sitaram.puram vi[[age in . nesday. The State govem- Nuzvid mandal. ment was according priority to logistics and augmenta' Warchouslng corporatlon tion of passengers and good to shift to Vijayawada tnnsport, expansion of roads, railway network and The AP State Warehousing ports in the state, Mr. Naidu Corporation on Wednesday said at a meeting after laying accepted the financiaI assets the foundation stone for a and distribution of emptoyees geenfield no-frills airport at among State Warehousing Orvakal in Kurnool district. Corporations of AP and The airport, coming up on Tetangana. The 191,' Eoard of 1,010 acres at a cost of tgo Directors' meeting that was crore, would be completed hetd under the chairmanship in a year, he asserted. Grsenfetd airport Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu performing 'bhoomi puja'foran of 1.V.5.R,K. Prasad here The Central government airport at Orvakat in Kurnool district on Wednesday. .u. suenrvuvru approved a proposal to shift launched the UDAN regional the corporation's connectivity scheme to Bengaluru, Kadapa and Am- Corporation CEO A. ployment to IO,OOO pelsons. headquarters f rom Hyderabad make air travel afrordable to aravati. The Orvakal airport Chandrasekhar Reddy, A.P. Stating that drip and to Vijayawada. the common man, Mr. Naidu would spur development of Solar Power Corporation G. sprinkler irrigation tools said. His govemment revi!,€d townships, hotels and tour- Adiseshu and TDP leaders were being given at 90% sub- CM to launch IGBC the Kadapa airyolt and de- ism would get a boost in the were prcsent. sidy, the ChiefMinister said Amaravati chapter veloped intemational air- district which has seveml an- horticulture would be more ports at Tirupati and cient and historic temples. Food processing udt profitable to farmers than Chief Minister N. visakhapatnam, Kurnool MP Butta Renuka, Earlier, he laid foundation agriculture in the four Ray- chandrababu Naidu wilt MLA5 cauru Charitha Reddy, stone for tie Jain lrrigation alaseema districts. taunch the Amaravati cha pter 'A hub in the making' B.C. Janardhana Reddy, S.V systems agrc and food pro- Deputy Chief Minister of Confederation of lndian Promising completion of Mohan Reddy, Principal S€c- cessing unit at Thangadan- K.E. Icishnamurthy, MLAS S. lndustry'lndian Green roads, rail lines and ports by retary of Energy and Air- cha in Jupadu Bungalow Aisaiah, B. Rajasekhara Buitding CounciL (IGBC) at next year-end, he said Kur- ports Ajay Jain, A.P. Solar mandal, Reddy, Mani Gandhi, and Hotel Gateway on June 23, nool would become a major Power Corporation CEO The unit \trould generate Jain ldgation Managing Dir- eccording to a release by Cll highway junction cormecti{rg V.S.R. Naidu, A.P. State En- direct employment to 3,50o ector Anil Jain were among Director (A.A) S. Jyoti Kumar. Hyderabad, Bellary, er$/ Efficiency Development persons and indirect em- those present.