An official press release said that pending formation of the Chennai Metro Rail Limited, Mr Syed Munir Hoda, would be posted as special officer, Chennai Metro Rail Project in the planning and development (special initiatives) department.
Mr Hoda was appointed as the chief minister's secretary after the DMK won the assembly election in May last year. Mr Hoda is expected to assume charge shortly.
The project comprises of three phases, and is being implemented to make the public transport system more efficient. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation recently submitted its detailed project report for the project.
The 46.5-km metro rail will comprise two corridors-one extending from Washermenpet in North Chennai to the city air port via Egmore and Teynampet and another from Fort St George to St Thomas Mount via Anna Nagar, Vadapalani, Ashok Nagar and Alandur. The state Cabinet recently approved the the Rs.9,757-crore project, which it is hoped will ease traffic congestion in the metropolis. About 20 km of the railway line will be underground and the remaining on the surface.
The state cabinet decided to approach the Centre for financial assistance and loans to fund it. Japan's Bank for International Cooperation is also expected to provide financial assistance.Union finance minister P. Chidambaram who met Mr. Karunanidhi recently said that Chennai would get the same assistance as Bangalore and Hyderabad had received for building the metro rail.
The DMRC was requested to prepare the detailed project report at a cost of Rs 3.3 crore in 2005. Initially, the government considered having a major part of the 46.5-km structure underground. It was estimated to cost Rs.13,000 crore. The cost came down significantly after a decision was taken to only partly build the line underground.