Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu may not boast about the Metro Rail Project in the next elections in 2019. According to the timeline estimates given by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation in the DPR, the first phase of Vijayawada Metro Rail will be open to Public by August 1st, 2019. These are the earliest timelines which can be delayed but may not be advanced.
The Assembly elections are likely to happen in May 2019 which means Chandrababu Naidu may not boast about Metro Rail in the elections. In order to avoid delays with Central government approvals and funding, the state government is planning to begin the metro works with its stake first. We already know that state and the central government will have 20% stake each in the 6823 Crore project.
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The ground breaking ceremony for the project is likely to happen in June and works are expected to begin from July. To avoid delays in calling the tenders, DMRC which operates under the Union government is chosen for the project directly. The state government is now focusing on pooling money for the project. DMRC proposed the idea of imposing Metro Cess in Petrol, Diesel, Propert Tax etc. to pool in the money.
