Kochi Metropolitan Transport Authority schemes integrated

KOCHI: The much-awaited Kochi Metropolitan Transport Authority (KMTA), which will coordinate the transport activities of greater Kochi, on Friday got a major fillip following the budgetary allocations announced by Finance Minister Thomas Isaac.

KMTA will also help achieve the goal of seamless mobility. An amount of Rs 2.5 crore is earmarked in the budget for KMTA, which will be a 15 member-strong independent body headed by the transport minister. The budget has also listed infrastructure projects, especially transport-related, worth Rs 6,000 for Kochi. The KMTA will supervise these projects with the aim of developing seamless mobility for Kochi.  Interestingly, there are no new transport projects for the city.

“The budget has listed some of the ongoing projects and those which are in various stages of completion. Most of the projects listed for Kochi are connected to Kochi Metro. Allocation for KMTA is the only thing which is new,” said T J Vinodh, Ernakulam MLA.

Meanwhile, most of the ongoing projects undertaken by KMRL were listed in the budget. These include major projects like Water Metro, Kochi Metro’s second phase and the non-motorised transport (NMT) projects.

“The government has earmarked  substantial amount in the budget for Kochi Metro. Petta station will be commissioned in March 2020. Construction of Petta to SN Junction is fast progressing. We have completed the preliminary study for the project, including land acquisition and other preparatory works for the phase II to Infopark, and approval from the central government is expected soon,” said Alkesh Kumar Sharma,  managing director, KMRL.

KMRL also plans to launch the Rs 747 crore Water Metro project this calendar year. “The construction of jetties is progressing. Cochin Shipyard will deliver the first set of boats in November 2020,” he said.
Another project mentioned in the budget is the Rs 239 crore project for developing pedestrian-friendly footpath, cycle track and road-rail-water transport connectivity. The project will be implemented with financial support from the French Development Agency(AFD) .