Cabinet nod for Metro rail projects in UP's Kanpur, Agra

The Union Cabinet on Friday approved two Metro rail projects in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur and Agra at an estimated cost of Rs 19,456.1 crore in order to boost urban public transport connectivity.

Both the projects will be completed in five years.

The Kanpur project will include two corridors, one from ITT to Naubasta and the other from the Agriculture University to Barra-8. The project's estimated cost is Rs 11,076.48 crore.

The ITT-Naubasta corridor will cover 23.785 km and comprise 22 stations - 14 elevated and 8 underground, while the Agriculture University-Barra-8 corridor is 8.6 km and will have four elevated and four underground stations.

The Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation, a 50:50 jointly owned company of the Central and Uttar Pradesh governments, will be reconstituted as Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC) for implementation of the project.

The financing of Kanpur Metro Rail project will be partly from Centre and Uttar Pradesh governments on an equal equity basis and partly as soft loan from bilateral and multilateral international funding agencies.

The Agra Metro rail project will also have two corridors which will pass through the heart of the city and connect prominent tourist places including the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, and Sikandra as well as the Inter State Bus Terminus, Raja Ki Mandi railway station, Medical College, Agra Cantt railway station, the Collectorate, Sanjay Place and surrounding densely-populated residential areas.

The estimated cost of the project is Rs 8,379.62 crore.

The length of the Sikandra-Taj East Gate corridor is 14 km, and will comprise six elevated and seven underground stations. The length of Agra Cantt-Kalindi Vihar corridor is 15.4 km and it will have 14 elevated stations.

The financing of the project will be partly from Centre and Uttar Pradesh government on equal equity basis and partly as soft loan from bilateral and multilateral international funding agencies.

The Uttar Pradesh government has already allocated Rs 175 crore for this project during the financial year 2019-20.

--IANS

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