Kolkata is decked up to complete its first East-West Metro project, which runs partly under the city’s iconic Hooghly river, by March 2022. The project has been delayed by several years due to its doubled cost.
As per a report, the metro authority is seeking a final 200 million rupees installment from the India Railway board for the completion of the project. A soft loan of 41.6 billion rupees from the Japan International Cooperation Agency also has a contribution to the project.
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The south-north and east-west metro services will together contribute to tackle traffic and curb pollution in Kolkata.
“About 40% of total transport demand will be tackled by these two metro services,” Sarkar said in an interview at his office in Kolkata. “It will be a relief for environmental pollution and the city should be much more decongested.”
For the unknown, the north-south metro service in Kolkata is the oldest of all metro services in the country. Kolkata metro dates backs to 1984.
The new East-West line, for a brief period (520m), passes under the water. The metro will carry as many as 900,000 people daily, which is roughly 20% of the city’s population.
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Kolkata metro service will repay Japan’s loan over the next 30 years with an interest rate ranging between 1.2% to 1.6%.
