Costs Doubles For Kolkata Underwater Metro
The Kolkata Metro Rail Corp.’s aim to expand the Kolkata Metro and create a 520 metre underwater tunnel has hit massive roadblock leading to a massive inflation in its costing.
The Metro in Kolkata is the oldest in India and was started in 1984. The metro would run from North to South of Kolkata.Metro was supposed to expand in 2014. Kolkata Metro Rail Corp. was going to expand its metro services from East-West Kolkata.This project, which runs partly under Kolkata’s famous Hooghly river. The new Metro is expected to carry about 9,00,000 people daily and will take less than a minute to cross a 520-meter underwater tunnel.
Now Depending on the time of day, it takes some 20 minutes to use the ferry to cross the Hooghly river and and almost an hour to cross the Howrah bridge.The metro will help people travel and reduce traffic. It will also help the environment.It was supposed to be completed by March 2022. However there were many problems which delayed the project and by several years and doubled costs.To fund the project KMRC took a loan of Rs 41.6 billion from Japan International Cooperation Agency helps fund 48.5% of the project. KMRC will repay the JICA loan over 30 years.
