Hyderabad Metro: GMR Airport Directed To Hand Over 48 Acres For Airport Metro Rail Depot

GMR Airport has been instructed to allocate 48 acres of land for the construction of a depot for the Hyderabad Airport Metro Rail project.

Hyderabad Airport Metro Rail project is estimated to cost Rs 6,250 crore and spans a distance of 31 km.

Various government departments and organisations that have properties obstructing the alignment of the fast metro from Mindspace Junction to Shamshabad have also been asked to hand over the identified land for the project.

This directive was given by Minister for IT, Municipal Administration and Urban Development K T Rama Rao.

In addition to the above, Minister Rama Rao has urged for the expedited acquisition of land for the remaining 5.5 km of the Old City Metro from MGBS, Imlibun to Falaknuma.

This section of the project is estimated to cost Rs 1,800 crore.

Furthermore, the metro rail authorities have been requested to plan for a future extension of the line from Falaknuma to the airport.

During a meeting at Metro Rail Bhavan, attended by various officials including Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari and IT and Industries Secretary Jayesh Ranjan, the HAML Managing Director N V S Reddy presented the proposed plan of action for the construction of these two routes and discussed the potential obstacles.

These reports will be sent to the Union government for funding consideration, as well as explore alternative funding options.

Senior officials have been urged to collaborate on the Rs 9,100-crore BHEL-Lakdikapul and Nagole-LB Nagar (36 km) project as a joint venture with 50 per cent cost sharing.

The collectors of Hyderabad, Medchal, and Sangareddy districts have been assigned the task of identifying vacant government land near existing and proposed metro stations for the development of multi-level car parking complexes.

To enhance the existing metro rail network spanning 69 km, the minister has emphasised the need for introducing more coaches, improving feeder services, and developing better footpaths.

These measures are expected to increase the current metro ridership of 5 lakh per day and alleviate vehicular congestion, according to an official release.

Airport Metro — Rapid Connectivity To International Airport

The airport corridor will connect Mindspace junction near Raidurg Metro station and the city’s international airport located at Shamshabad after traversing along the Outer Ring Road (ORR) of the city.

The Airport Metro will connect the city to the airport and other major areas, such as the IT hub of Hitec City, Madhapur, Gachibowli, Nanakramguda, Narsingi, Kokapet etc.

The foundation stone for the project was laid by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on 9 December last year.

The Airport Metro will reduce travel time from the city to the airport by up to 50 per cent. The metro is expected to take just 20 minutes to connect the airport to the main city.