New Year Gift For Odisha: CM Patnaik Lays Foundation Stone Of State's First Metro Rail Project In Bhubaneswar

In a new year gift for Odisha, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday (1 January) laid the foundation stone for the state’s first metro rail project that would link the state capital, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.

The Rs 6,225.94 crore Bhubaneswar Metro Rail project will connect Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar with Trisulia Square near Cuttack in the first phase, covering a distance of 26 km.

Addressing the gathering after laying the foundation stone, Patnaik said: “This New Year Day will always remain special in the history of Odisha’s development journey.”

“The metro project will usher transformation in the urban transportation. It will connect Bhubaneswar with Cuttack, the old capital of Odisha. I have promised for a metro project which I am fulfilling today,” Patnaik added.

As per the DPR (detailed project report), the entire alignment of the first phase of the metro project will be on an elevated structure and run on the median or side of the existing roads, with 20 stations.

The 20 stations are Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA), Capital Hospital, Sishu Bhawan, Bapuji Nagar, Bhubaneswar Railway Station, Ram Mandir Square, Vani Vihar, Acharya Vihar Square, Jaydev Vihar Square, Xavier Square, Rail Sadan, District Centre, Damana Square, Patia Square, KIIT Square, Nandan Vihar, Raghunathpur, Nanadankanan Zoological Park, Phulapokhari and Trisulia Square.

The central depot of the Metro Rail project will be located near Trisulia Square where the command and control centre as well as the maintenance and stabling facilities for the metro trains will be constructed.

Significantly, the state government will entirely fund the metro rail project, covering the entire project cost of Rs 6,000 crore.

“This is the single largest investment made in any infrastructure project in the history of Odisha. it’s a flagship programme of my government taken up under the 5T initiative. Let us work together for a new and empowered Odisha,” he said.

It may be recalled that on the occasion of the Utkal Divas on 1 April 2023, CM Naveen Patnaik announced the development of the state’s first metro project in Bhubaneshwar. The DPR was prepared in a record time of two months, with soil testing and traffic projections by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).

Further in August 2023, the State government incorporated Bhubaneswar Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) as a fully owned company of the state government under the Companies Act to drive this mega infrastructure initiative.

The Bhubaneswar Metro Rail Corporation has signed a contract with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for the construction of phase 1 of the Bhubaneswar Metro Rail project. The DMRC will execute the project as a turn-key consultant and charge a fee of Rs 326.56 crore.

As per the schedule, the rail project will be completed in four years and will provide an easy transport facility from Bhubaneswar airport to Cuttack via Trishulia and strengthen urban mobility in the State.