Telangana CM directs officials to expedite Hyderabad Metro works in Old City
Hyderabad, August 11
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday directed officials to expedite Metro Rail works in Hyderabad's Old City under the Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase-2 project and initiate the tender process.
Reddy held a review meeting with senior officials of Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) on the Old City Metro project and directed them to complete road widening works along the 7.5-km stretch from MGBS to Chandrayangutta at a fast pace.
The Chief Minister also enquired about pending land acquisition and instructed officials to finalise the Metro expansion plans immediately.
Noting the steadily increasing ridership on the Hyderabad Metro, Reddy directed officials to take appropriate measures to handle the growing passenger load, including procuring additional coaches for Metro trains.
Regarding the 7.5-km MGBS-Chandrayangutta corridor under Phase-2, the Chief Minister instructed officials to consult the Delhi Metro for assistance on the appropriate technology to be employed.
During the meeting, Reddy also reviewed preliminary arrangements for the 'Invest Telangana Global Summit', scheduled to be held in December.
The meeting discussed organisational arrangements for the summit and plans to honour prominent persons from various business sectors during the meeting.
The Chief Minister stressed the need to organise the summit to international standards with the objective of attracting global investments to Telangana.
He directed officials to submit a detailed report on investments attracted and progress made following last year's summit and instructed them to prepare plans to achieve further progress in attracting investments.
State Chief Secretary Sanjay Jaju, Special Chief Secretary Jayesh Ranjan, Government Advisors Ramakrishna Rao and NVS Reddy, Metro Rail MD Sarfaraz Ahmed, Additional MD Ajit Reddy and others participated in the meeting.
Earlier in June, the State and Union Governments had collectively appointed SBICAPS as the official consultant. The consultant has been tasked with a comprehensive mandate, including: Phase-I valuation by conducting a detailed study on the valuation of the existing Hyderabad Metro Phase-I; identifying necessary loans and selecting optimal lending agencies for the takeover process; providing a detailed analysis of expansion routes, construction costs, and sustainable financing models for the proposed Phase-II project.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Good initiative, but the bigger question is whether the government will actually follow through this time. The Old City's narrow streets are a nightmare for construction work. They should also think about parking solutions and last-mile connectivity. Only building metro lines won't solve everything.
It's interesting to see Hyderabad expanding its metro network. Having experienced the system there while on business, it's quite efficient. The Old City extension will definitely help ease congestion in one of the busiest parts of town. Good move by the Chief Minister.
Revanth garu is actually serious about this. The MGBS-Chandrayangutta stretch has been neglected for years despite having huge population density. If they complete this by 2026, it'll be a game-changer. But they need to sort out the tenders quickly - lots of red tape always delays these projects. 🤞
As someone who travels through Old City regularly for business, the traffic situation is unbearable. This metro project is much needed. However, I'm concerned about the tax burden - the SBICAPS valuation and loan process needs to be transparent. We don't want another PPP mess like what happened earlier.
Good to see foreign investment summits and infrastructure development happening together. Telangana is positioning itself well for global investors. The metro expansion will likely be a major talking point for the Invest Telangana Summit. This could bring significant economic benefits to the region.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.