April 6: A new hurdle in the form of ‘foundation stone ceremony’ awaits the Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) project to begin the construction works even as the concessionaire L&T achieved the financial closure for Rs 16,375 crore in a record six month’s time on Tuesday.
Thanks to the ambitious plans of the state government, which is keen to invite the UPA chairperson, Mrs Sonia Gandhi or the Prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, to lay the foundation stone for the project, the officials of both HMR and L&T fear that they may have to wait for at least two months since it will be a tough task to secure the appointment of VVIPs at short notice. The Chief Minister, Mr N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, had last week announced, during the inauguration of a GHMC sports complex in the city, that the foundation for metro rail would be laid either by Mrs Sonia Gandhi or Dr Singh. The announcement of financial closure enables the concessionaire to launch construction works anytime now.
While the HMR and L&T officials are eager to launch the works immediately for the metro rail project that has been delayed since 2008, when the contract was awarded to Maytas and subsequently terminated resulting in inviting fresh bids and awarding contract to L&T in September 2009, the uncertainty over “ground-breaking ceremony” is giving them anxious moments. They expect to get the appointment of Ms Gandhi or Dr Singh only after May 13, when the counting of votes for the Assembly elections in five states will be held.
The L&T HMRL managing director, Mr V.B. Gadgil, said that the company has devised plans to complete a major chunk of the construction works within 36 to 40 months since the time of ground-breaking ceremony. Going by this, the company has to expedite the works to meet the deadline and each passing day is important for L&T since it achieved the financial closure on April 5. Since the HMR project was sanctioned by the UPA government and the Centre has been contributing Rs 1,458 crore for the project under PPP mode, the state government feels it appropriate to invite either UPA chairperson or the PM for the ground-breaking ceremony. The HMR managing director, Mr N.V.S. Reddy, said a decision on the schedule for ground-breaking ceremony will be decided by the government. “The CM had already made a statement over this. The ceremony will be scheduled in consultation with the government.”
April 6: A new hurdle in the form of ‘foundation stone ceremony’ awaits the Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) project to begin the construction works even as the concessionaire L&T achieved the financial closure for Rs 16,375 crore in a record six month’s time on Tuesday.
Thanks to the ambitious plans of the state government, which is keen to invite the UPA chairperson, Mrs Sonia Gandhi or the Prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, to lay the foundation stone for the project, the officials of both HMR and L&T fear that they may have to wait for at least two months since it will be a tough task to secure the appointment of VVIPs at short notice. The Chief Minister, Mr N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, had last week announced, during the inauguration of a GHMC sports complex in the city, that the foundation for metro rail would be laid either by Mrs Sonia Gandhi or Dr Singh. The announcement of financial closure enables the concessionaire to launch construction works anytime now.
While the HMR and L&T officials are eager to launch the works immediately for the metro rail project that has been delayed since 2008, when the contract was awarded to Maytas and subsequently terminated resulting in inviting fresh bids and awarding contract to L&T in September 2009, the uncertainty over “ground-breaking ceremony” is giving them anxious moments. They expect to get the appointment of Ms Gandhi or Dr Singh only after May 13, when the counting of votes for the Assembly elections in five states will be held.
The L&T HMRL managing director, Mr V.B. Gadgil, said that the company has devised plans to complete a major chunk of the construction works within 36 to 40 months since the time of ground-breaking ceremony. Going by this, the company has to expedite the works to meet the deadline and each passing day is important for L&T since it achieved the financial closure on April 5. Since the HMR project was sanctioned by the UPA government and the Centre has been contributing Rs 1,458 crore for the project under PPP mode, the state government feels it appropriate to invite either UPA chairperson or the PM for the ground-breaking ceremony. The HMR managing director, Mr N.V.S. Reddy, said a decision on the schedule for ground-breaking ceremony will be decided by the government. “The CM had already made a statement over this. The ceremony will be scheduled in consultation with the government.”
