KOCHI: Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) will soon commence construction of two more Metro stations on Phase II line. Revenue department has issued notification for land acquisition required to construct Chittethukara and Cochin SEZ Metro stations on the new Pink Line, which connects JLN Stadium with Kakkanad.
A total of 0.235 hectares will be acquired for SEZ station while 0.1810 hectares will be acquired for Chittethukara station. Earlier, govt had granted permissive sanction to KMRL to begin construction work of Infopark station, and the work has already commenced.
Total cost of Pink Line project, which includes 11 stations, is Rs 1,957.05 crore. KMRL has officially awarded the contract for construction of the 11.2-km-long viaduct to Afcons. The contract amount is Rs 1,141.32 crore and the duration of the work is 20 months.
Stations are being constructed at Jawaharlal Nehru (JLN) Stadium, Palarivattom Junction, Palarivattom Bypass, Chembumukku, Vazhakkala, Padamughal, Kakkanad Junction, Cochin SEZ, Chittethukara, Kinfra and Infopark.
Revenue authorities will complete the formal acquisition procedures soon, according to a KMRL source.
Land for Chittethukara and SEZ stations are being acquired by invoking the provisions of LARR Act, 2013. District collector will ensure that approval under extant acts and rules, such as the Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act, Coastal Zone Regulation Act, and Environment Act, whichever are applicable to the proposal in this case, are obtained by the requisition authority.
As the 2024-25 finance budget allocated Rs 239 crore for the Phase II project, works began two months ago.