The state of Odisha has taken steps towards implementation of its ambitious Metro rail project. According to official sources, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has been appointed to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for the project. A master plan will also be developed for the Metro network which will cover the areas of Bhubaneswar, Khordha, Cuttack and Puri.
The preparation of the DPR is expected to be a challenging task, but the authorities have taken it as a challenge with the aim of achieving benchmarks of the best Metro systems globally. In the first phase, the DPR will be prepared for the route from Biju Patnaik International Airport to Trishulia, covering areas like Master Canteen, Vani Vihar, Jaydev Vihar, Chandrasekharpur, Patia, Raghunathpur, Nandankanan to Trishulia.
The entire Metro rail project will be undertaken under the supervision of Odisha Rail Infrastructure Development (ORID), which is a joint venture of the Government of Odisha and the Ministry of Railways. A high-level meeting was chaired by the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) Vice-Chairman, Balwant Singh, where several aspects of the project, including Metro alignment, the need for multi-agency integration and others were presented in detail.
The implementation of the Metro rail project is expected to bring about a significant improvement in the state’s public transportation system. The DPR and the master plan for the project will be critical in determining the project’s feasibility and laying the groundwork for its successful execution.
