EIB Appreciates Efforts of Lucknow Metro to Conduct Awareness Campaign for Increasing Ridership
Lucknow: The European Investment Bank (EIB) delegation concluded its three-day visit with an important meeting in Lucknow. The EIB team, which visited Agra on October 20 and Kanpur Metro project on October 21, expressed satisfaction over the pace of construction work. The EIB team also praised the efforts instilled by Lucknow Metro to increase ridership.
The EIB delegation met UPMRC officials at the Administrative Building in Lucknow today and expressed satisfaction with the current pace of construction work in Agra and Kanpur. It also appreciated the international safety standards adopted by UPMRC. EIB also discussed the operational metro services on the 23-km-long North-South corridor in Lucknow.
The EIB delegation appreciated the awareness campaign launched by Lucknow Metro in schools and colleges recently. Besides this, the delegation also praised the birthdays/kitties celebrated in the Lucknow metro train and the exhibitions set up at the metro stations for increasing ridership.
The delegation earlier visited the Agra and Kanpur Metro Rail Projects and appreciated both Metro teams’ time-bound construction. The European Investment Bank is providing financial assistance of 650 million euros to the Kanpur Metro Rail project. At the same time, the EIB is providing financial assistance of 450 million euros for two corridors of 29.4 km length of the Agra Metro Rail Project.
The total project cost of the Kanpur Metro Rail Project is Rs 11,076 crore, while the cost of the Agra Metro Rail Project is Rs 8379.62 crore. The remaining funding is being provided by the central and State Governments. During this meeting, the EIB also discussed the East-West Corridor of the Lucknow Metro.
S.K. Mittal, Director Finance, UPMRC said that European Investment Bank is the lending arm of UPMRC projects. “We are happy to receive EIB’s financial support and hope that our partnership will go a long way in providing a world-class urban transport system in Lucknow, Kanpur and Agra,”
Speaking on the occasion, Sushil Kumar, Managing Director, UPMRC said, “The Metro project is being implemented at a fast pace in a time-bound manner. With the help of EIB, we were able to start revenue services on the 9 km long priority corridor before the scheduled deadline. With EIB’s continued support, we can start operations on the remaining section within the stipulated time frame. Shri Sushil Kumar, MD, UPMRC, Shri Sheel Kumar Mittal, Director (Finance), Shri C.P. Singh, Director (Works and Infrastructure), and other senior Metro officials were present during the visit.
