UP to fund Lucknow Metro Project

With the Lucknow Metro Rail project yet to get clearance from the Public Investment Board (PIB), the state government has decided to complete the first part of the work with its own resources to meet the December 2016 deadline. UP will go to the polls in 2017. Officials said the government will spend around Rs 2,000 crore to complete the 8.3 km priority section stretch from Transport Nagar to Charbagh. This will be a part of the state´s share of the project cost of Rs 6,880 crore for the entire North-South corridor from Amausi to Munshipulia. The decision is likely to put pressure on the Centre to ensure that the PIB clearance is issued at the earliest to ensure UP cannot blame the Union Government for any delays in the project. The Metro project is being shown as Lucknow´s lifeline. While the Centre has to bear 20 per cent of the total project cost, UP will pay around 27 per cent. The rest of the funding will come in the form of loans from various agencies.