KOCHI: The Metro Rail project is expected to usher in a fresh pattern of travel for commuters in Kochi. The project, estimated to cost more than Rs.2,000 crores, is to be completed around 2010. As the cost involved is on the high, the project is to be taken up on Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis with Government participation.

A relevant question being raised by some experts is whether this mode of financing will be ideal for the project. The doubt is being raised in the wake of the experience after building a bridge at Mattancherry on BOT basis when the toll issue spiralled into intense opposition that cast a shadow on the very mode of finance.

The financing pattern for the Metro Rail project is unclear, said Dinesh Mani, former Mayor of Kochi. He expressed scepticism over the BOT system. "The BOT model that emerged out of the Mattancherry bridge has not been positive," he said. The cost escalation would require a close watch. Development projects should not turn out to be a burden for the people, he said. He also pointed out that three bridges of the Goshree project were completed with funds from a consortium of banks. Nevertheless he admitted that the State Government would not be in a position to raise funds for projects like Metro rail that require substantial investment.

Is the BOT system untouchable? Not at all, says V.J. Kurien, Managing Director of Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL). Referring to the Mattancherry bridge toll issue, he says: "It was an aberration." The opinion comes from the man who was keenly involved in the CIAL project right from its conception to raising funds and proved to the world that a major project could be taken up with people's financial support.

The Metro Rail project could be taken up on similar lines, but it needs dedication and a missionary zeal, Mr. Kurien said, recalling his experiences in the creation of CIAL. Significantly, the Government is the single largest investor in the CIAL. It is doubtful whether the Government would be able to finance a larger project like Metro Rail, he said. As the fare structure had already been projected in the present scheme, there is no cause for concern over escalation as had happened in the toll at Mattancherry, he said.

Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) Chairman Antony Isaac exuded confidence in executing the Metro Rail project on BOT basis. The full funding by the Government would be almost out of question. "Delay in executing the project as in the case of construction of dams will not be advisable," he said. He is confident that the project would generate good revenue.

Keralites seem to have not yet accepted the BOT concept, said K.P.M. Nair, project in-charge of the Mattanchery bridge. People were not much aware of the toll till they had to shell out money, he said, explaining the fiasco.

The problem arose because the end-users were mostly the same unlike in the case of highway stretches where the end-users are different. But BOT projects were popular elsewhere, he said.

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