All Set For Naveen To Lay Foundation Stone For Bhubaneswar Metro Rail Tomorrow

Bhubaneswar: The stage is all set for Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to lay foundation stone for Bhubaneswar Metro Rail project on Monday.

According to official sources, the Chief Minister is scheduled to attend a function to lay the foundation stone of the first phase of the Metrol Rail project at Ratagada Lenka Sahi near Trishulia in Cuttack.

The MLAs, BJD workers and local people from Bhubaneswar Central, Bhubaneswar North and Banki Assembly constituencies will attend the ceremony, the sources said.

The Chief Minister had announced the project on the occasion of Utkal Diwas on April 1. 5T Chairman VK Pandian had visited Trishulia on October 29 to take stock of the progress in project before the foundation laying ceremony. The state Cabinet approved phase-I of the project at a cost of Rs 6,255 crore in November.

In the same month, the Bhubaneswar Metro Rail Corporation signed a contract with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for construction of metro rail from Biju Patnaik International Airport to Trishulia. The DMRC will execute the project as a turn-key consultant and charge a fee of Rs 326.56 crore. The first phase work of the metro rail is targeted to be completed in 4 years.

Following are main features of the Bhubaneswar Metro:

• Length of the project from Bhubaneswar Airport to Trisulia square is 26 km.
• There will be 20 metro stations including Capital Hospital, Rajmahal Square, Jayadev Vihar Square and Patia Square.
• The metro rail tracks and stations will be on elevated viaducts.
• Ultra-modern coaches and signalling system will be adopted.
• Advanced Ticketing System.