The Madhya Pradesh government has announced that Bhopal and Indore will have metro systems by 2018. The metros will have a 28 km stretch each in the first phase and will span 95 km and 103 km after completion.
“Our effort is to issue the first tickets on the Metros in Bhopal and Indore by 2018. At least some portions will be open to commuters,” Vivek Aggarwal, managing director, Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail project, said.
The urban development department is currently working on securing funds and finalising the detailed project reports for the two metro systems.
The first phase is estimated to cost Rs 140-150 bn (1.8-1.9 bn euros). 20% of this sum will be contributed by the central and state governments. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has agreed to fund Rs 120 bn (1.5 bn euros) for the projects at nominal interest rates. The condition for the loan is that the special purpose vehicles for the metro projects will make 30 per cent of procurements from Japanese companies and another 30 per cent from the domestic market.
The Bhopal and Indore metro projects were conceived in 2009.
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