BANGALORE: The July 15 meeting of the Public Investment Board (PIB) to decide on Bangalore Metro Rail Project has been put off to July 29 although Bangalore Mass Rapid Transit Ltd. (BMRTL), which will execute the project, claims to be ready with the clarifications sought by the board.

BMRTL Managing Director K.N. Shrivastava said the PIB is not seeking any "major clarification" but wants to know what the BMRTL will do if there is no tax exemption for the project. Although the PIB has sought a number of clarifications, including funding, technical drawings and so on, according to sources, BMRTL will not be able to provide the information by this date thus delaying the project further. With the controversy raging on metro-mono rail systems, the postponement comes as yet another stumbling block to the project.

Offer rejected

Making a pitch at this time is Kencana Kasifa Transit Systems (KKTS), a consortium from Malaysia, which has made an offer to develop the Metro rail.

Dismissing the proposal by KKTS, Mr. Shrivastava said: "The Metro is at an advanced stage to take off and we cannot now look at other operators, for the simple reason it will delay the project by two more years." The BMRTL is ready to throw open the second phase of the Metro to other operators and "maybe they can bid at that time, if they are serious". "Now it is impossible, we will have to invite bids all over again, rework everything," he said.

He said the Malaysian consortium should be asked to do a pilot study before being awarded the work.

"We cannot take their statements at face value and it is impossible to reduce the cost of the project by any company," which is now pegged at Rs. 6,200 crores.

Financial closure

As for financial closure of the Metro project, Mr. Shrivastava clarified that it could be done only after the PIB clearance. "The Government of India is committed to the project, so are the financial institutions which have given letters of consent. These letters will get translated into loan agreement once the board clears the project," he said. The KKTS has made an offer to undertake the project on a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) basis and fund up to 90 per cent of the project cost.

The Government is expected to invest only 10 per cent of the project cost, unlike in the BMRTL proposal where the State Government funding is to the tune of Rs. 1,807 crores.

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