Kochi Metro Rail chugs along

KOCHI: Giving a boost to the Kochi Metro Rail project, the state government has decided to constitute a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for  the implementation of the project. The state Cabinet which met on Wednesday decided to constitute the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd with the Chief Minister as its chairman.Once the company is registered, it will oversee the implementation of the project. "Securing the green signal from various agencies and monitoring the execution of preparatory work of the project are the duties the company will have to undertake immediately," said Tom Jose, nodal officer, Kochi Metro Rail project.The state government will soon start the measures to register the company. The certificate of incorporation issued by the Registrar of Companies is the first step to launch the SPV. "We expect that the company can be registered within 50-60 days," Tom Jose said.Once the company is launched, it will be able to take various decisions regarding the project without any delay.  The state government will have to constitute the director board of the company. It will have to submit the names of the directors to secure the certificate from the Registrar of Companies.In an effort to expedite the sanction to the project, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had met the Prime Minister recently.The state government has submitted the proposal to start the project as a joint venture.  The approval from the Union Government is expected soon, sources with the state government said.The government has already awarded the tender for executing the preparatory work of the project to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).  The revenue department has almost completed the survey work for land acquisition. The Union Government's approval for the project is a pre-requisite for issuing 4 (1) notification for the land acquisition.  Earlier, the state government had included the project in its 100 days programme.  Even though the Centre has given its final nod, there will be many hurdles before the project with land acquisition topping the list as around 25 hectares have to be acquired for the project.Of the 25 hectares, about 15 hectares belong to private parties.  The revenue department in the district had made it clear that it will complete the land acquisition process within six months after the state government gives the requisition.