Union Minister of State for Urban Development Babul Supriyo said 78 per cent of the work has been completed on the two corridors of the Chennai Metro Rail. The railways corridors – from Chennai Central to St. Thomas Mount – and the other from Washermanpet to Chennai airport may be operational only by December 2017, the Minister said.
This pushes back the deadline that the state government had committed to during the inauguration of the service. Chennai Metro Rail, on which work started in 2009, is built at a cost of Rs 14,600 crore.
Of the total project cost, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is contributing 59 per cent, the Centre, 20 per cent and the rest is from the state´s coffers. However, the cost may go up to Rs 20,000 crore owing to a variety of factors, including rupee depreciation and increase in construction and labour costs.
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