Title - ‘Will be India’s most modern Metro’

With the commissioner of municipal corporation, R K Verma, being made the managing director of the much-awaited Ludhiana Metro project, Vaivasvat Venkat discusses its road map, bringing to you how commuting in the city is all set to change forever.
How do you envision the Ludhiana Metro rail project?
It is an important project for the city as it will go a long way in solving the problem of traffic congestion and bringing down the level of pollution. As the city has grown, so has its needs and Metro is an apt answer for that.
What is the project cost and how do you plan to raise capital?
Total cost of the project is Rs 10,300 crore and unlike Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), which is based on engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) model and is financed entirely by the Centre and state governments, the Ludhiana project will be on public-private partnership basis. A bidding process will be carried out and following that, the project will be carried forward on build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis. As part of the agreement, we have to raise Rs 2,000 crore for which resources will have to be mobilized.
Will Ludhiana Metro be a replica of Delhi Metro?
Ludhiana Metro will be much better in terms of looks, seating capacity and style. In fact, it will be the most modern of Metro projects in the entire country. It's been quite some time since the Delhi metro has been running, and the Ludhiana metro is a new project, and thus, going to be more modern in all aspects.

How many stations will it have?

The project would cover major areas as part of two corridors spread over 29 km. There will be 27 stations. The first corridor would start from Ayali Chowk on Ferozepur Road and would go up to BBMB power house, the last station on Ludhiana-Chandigarh Road, covering stations like Rajguru Nagar, Agar Nagar, Verka milk plant, PAU, Arti Chowk, Bharat Nagar Chowk, Guru Nanak Stadium, Gurdwara Dukh Niwaran, civil hospital, Samrala Chowk, Vardhaman Mills and Jamalpur. The second corridor would start from Gill village on Gill Road and go up to Rahon Road octroi post, covering Guru Nanak Engineering College, Shimlapuri, ATI Chowk, Kartar Singh Sarabha Market, Gill Chowk, bus stand, Guru Nanak Dev Stadium, railway station, Daresi Ground, Guru Nanak Nagar and Basti Jodhewal.

What is required to take the project forward?

A special purpose vehicle (SPV) is required to carry this project forward as it needs an institutional framework. On the line of DMRC, a Ludhiana Metro Rail Corporation has to be formed as a legal entity is must for the process.

Is the already prepared DPR sufficient for the purpose?

The DPR will have to be rechecked and revisited. We will recheck the locations and alignments of stations so as to ensure that the project has a smooth sailing.

How much time will it take for the project to complete?

It's a big project and has a long way to go. Once we recheck the DPR and send a report to the Union government and the same is approved, we will start the bidding process. These things are expected to be completed by March 2013. We will then be able to proceed in a speedy manner and commission the first ride in four years from then.