Title - Akhilesh Yadav meets Japanese delegation to explore funding for Metro rail

LUCKNOW: The state government has begun considering loan options for Lucknow Metro rail project after giving green signal to its first phase. On Friday, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav held a closed door meeting with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)'s India chief, Shinya Ejima and deputy chief representative of India, Ichiguchi Tomohide along with other senior officials of the international agency.The agency has a rich expertise in funding metro projects of cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kochi, Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata. Though it was a preliminary round of talks between the government and the funding agency, sources said in all likelihood, JICA would be chosen as the international funding agency for the Metro rail project. Officials have already stated that they are looking for an agency which is able to sanction loan in a timely manner and has rich experience in funding mega projects. JICA comes across as the most suitable option to fulfill these terms and conditions of the government. Since it was the first visit of JICA's India chief to Lucknow, it shows the agency's keenness to fund the Metro project.

The meeting which was attended by Madhukar Jetley, advisor to externally aided projects department, and Rakesh Garg, principal secretary to the CM along with other officials. They discussed the best possible loan options for the state. "The terms and conditions have to be in the best interest of the state for providing a world class Metro service to the citizens of Lucknow," said an official.

The delegates will further meet the government, once the proposal of obtaining loan from the international agency, is sent to the ministry of urban development and the department of economic affairs, GOI over next few days.

On Thursday, the state cabinet had approved construction of the first phase of metro rail -- North-South corridor -- in Lucknow, a 23-km stretch from Amausi airport to Munshipulia. It would be built at a cost between Rs 7,000-8,000 crore.

The DPR (Detailed Project Report) has been prepared by DMRC (Delhi Metro Rail Corporation) which has tried to reduce the underground stretch from the earlier proposed 7 km to 3 km underground track from Charbgah upto Hazratganj, which would bring down the construction cost by about Rs 1,000 crore. A special purpose vehicle (SPV) - Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation - is also to be formed in due course of time to execute the project in a time-bound manner.Lucknow's population has been rapidly growing over the past few years because of the migration of population from suburban areas to avail better facilities. A mass rapid transit system is, therefore, integral to a growing city like Lucknow to decrease the traffic pressure on roads. Besides solving traffic issues, Metro rail is also expected to reduce road risks and bring down air and noise pollution levels considerably, thereby improving city's environment.The ground work for Metro will most likely begin by year-end. Officials claim that the first phase would be completed in about 3-4 years (by 2016) if everything works according to the plan. A formal proposal on inclusion of Lucknow metro in 'The Metro Railways (Construction of Works) and Metro Railways (Operation and Maintenance) Acts would soon be sent to the Centre- a mandatory step to get the necessary legal backing to beginning the work.