Coimbatore Metro: Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank And CMRL Officials Visit Site

A team of metro rail officials conducted an inspection of a proposed metro rail project site in Coimbatore on Thursday (4 July).

Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) plans to submit a detailed project report (DPR) to the state government by the end of July. The proposed elevated metro rail project will cover Sathyamangalam Road and Avinashi Road in Coimbatore, with a total of 32 stations along a 39 km stretch across both routes.

The Tamil Nadu government had forwarded the metro rail plan to the Union government in March, seeking international finance for the project.

According to a press release, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) recently held a periodic review for the Phase II metro project in Chennai, which it is funding. The bank has also expressed interest in financing metro rail projects in Madurai and Coimbatore.

The inspection team included T Archunan, Director-Projects of CMRL, Wenyu Gu, senior transportation specialist from AIIB, and Rekha Prakash, Chief General Manager-Planning. They visited Ukkadam in Coimbatore. The press statement also mentioned that other multilateral banks have shown interest in funding the project. However, the final decision on the financial institutions to be involved will be made by the Union Ministry of Finance.

Coimbatore, known as the Manchester of South India, is one of the fastest-growing Tier-II cities in India. It is home to a plethora of economic activities such as textiles, trade, commerce, technology, medical facilities and manufacturing and is an embodiment of entrepreneurial spirit.

Keeping in view the future growth potential of the city, the government has decided to implement the Metro Rail project in Coimbatore city.

M A Siddique, the managing director of CMRL said that the city would receive a three-coach metro service connecting the two stretches from the city's railway junction, which has been designated as the interchange station.