Swiss firm offers to run monorail on PPP mode

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 12

After dumping the Metro project, the UT administration is now considering a monorail for the city.

A Switzerland-based company, Intamin Transportation Limited, today gave a presentation on the monorail network before the UT Adviser Manoj Parida and other senior officials of the Administration.

While giving the presentation, a firm representative put forward a proposal that the company was ready to provide infrastructure for the project and it would have to be run by the Administration.

Officials said the company was ready to bear 80 per cent of the cost of infrastructure required for the project.

A representative of the company claimed that the cost of construction in the monorail project would be half the estimated cost of the Metro project. He said it would be environment friendly transportation system as it would run on electric energy.

The monorail has been proposed for Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali.

Sources said UT officials asked the company officials to come up with a detailed proposal.

Now, the Administration would place all the options like Metro, monorail, electric buses and bus rapid transit system before the members of the Administrator’s Advisory Council in its meeting slated for February 15.

The Administration had shelved the Metro Project for Chandigarh in July last year and decided to go for another option like strengthening the public transport service.

The Metro Project was shelved due to its huge cost. The cost of the 37-km Metro was expected to be around Rs 14,000 crore in 2014 but the cost of the monorail will be around Rs 6,000 crore for the same length.

The report of Systra, a French Firm, will also be discussed during the February 15 meeting. The Administration has engaged the French company to decide on the future modes of transport for the city after surveying the volume of traffic here.

Company gives presentation to UT officials

• The Switzerland-based company, Intamin Transportation Limited, has given a presentation on the monorail network before the UT Adviser Manoj Parida and other senior officials of the Administration.
• While giving the presentation, a firm representative put forward a proposal that the company was ready to provide infrastructure for the project and it will have to be run by the Administration.
• A firm representative claimed that the cost of construction in the monorail project would be half the estimated cost of the Metro project. 

Admn shelved Metro project last year

• The UT Administration had shelved the Metro Project for Chandigarh in July last year and decided to go for another option like strengthening the public transport service. 
• The Metro Project was shelved due to its huge cost. The cost of the 37-km Metro was expected to be around Rs 14,000 crore in 2014.