Hyderabad Metro - the reboot
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silkboard - 18 July, 2009
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Saw this notice from Govt of Andhra Pradesh in the papers today, and the debates from last year flashed back. GoAP just floated a "Request for Qualification" (RFQ) for development of Hyderabad Metro Rail Project. A total reboot of sorts, Maytas is off, and Hyderabad is starting afresh.
Hyderabad Metro will still be a PPP - no surprise there. The RFQ further says that GoAP is looking for a private partner to undertake the project on "design build finance operate and transfer" (DBFOT) basis. Indicative cost of the project is Rs 12,132 crores.
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Remember the heated debates last year when Maytas won the bid offering to build the Metro and yet pay GoAP for it, and most people thought GoAP had pulled off a miracle by getting Hyderabad a Metro for free? But there were some - Mr E Sreedharan being the most vocal and visible of them - who were not convinced, and predicted that the arrangement is only going to buy political trouble for the future.
Its your call on "what was right", or "what it could have been" etc - look at the events of last one year and make your judgments on GoAP or Mr E Sreedharan. But my learning so far is that PPP arrangements hinged on real estate subsidies or doles is asking for trouble sooner or later. (BMIC anyone?)
Not that such arrangements are the problems by themselves. Managing and tracking real estate is such a messy and dirty thing that any massive arrangements on top is unlikely to be spot-free or easy.
Lets hope Hyderabad gets its MRTS soon.
PS: See the RFQ/Tender in full if you want to, but its just a one pager, nothing much there - RFQ Notification 16-7-09.pdf
COMMENTS
Any idea how Hyd Metro will integrate with current MMTS? Route planning level integration is one (avoid overlap, hand off or exchange points). But will new Metro be the using same guage as current MMTS, and possibly reuse the routes?
I have no idea about Hyd Metro. May be some Praja member from Hyd can can educate us.
blrsri -
18 July, 2009 - 09:36
the route planning with integration points btwn mmts and metro
http://www.hyderabadmetrorail.in/html/metro-routemap.htm
The earlier plan for hyd metro was using std guage like blr..so theres no seamless integration with MMTS..btw who on a PPP model would want to integrate with IR!
Naveen -
3 August, 2009 - 16:58
In the earlier arrangement (with Maytas), there had been integration with the existing MMTS & interchanges had been planned, but I am not sure if the Metro routes have been changed now or not - there had been allegations that routes had been deliberately planned to favor real estate development by Maytas !
In some ways, it's good that Bangalore never had MMTS or similar since integration /thoughts of MMTS expansion, etc would have held up the Metro & further, we would be stuck with the IR operating it. At least now, the focus is much more on the Metro (& Monorail) & planning will be better with focus on creating routes where they are necessary with better ridership levels.
Hyderabad's MMTS is filling up due to congestion & since there are no other options. The newer metros (Delhi, Bangalore) will be far superior to it, though.
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