Metro phase II this year?

BANGALORE: Managing Director of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) N Sivasailam, on Monday, said that work on Phase 2 of Namma Metro would start in the second half of 2012. “Central government’s approval is pending and we have been assured it will be processed expeditiously,” Sivasailam said. He was addressing a gathering of Rotarians in the city.Commenting on various delays,  Sivasailam said that the issue relating to relocation of B R Ambedkar statue on  Vidhana Soudha premises had not been sorted out yet. However, he stated that the project was on schedule and the construction work would be completed by December, next year. “Completion of Majestic  station would be delayed by four months. We can start operations on all the sectors except Majestic,” he said. On the likelihood of starting Metro operations to Bangalore International Airport, Sivasailam said that the plan was under consideration and BMRCL will take a decision in the next two months. He also hinted that the loan agreement process with State Bank of India was in its final stages for Phase 2. Sivasailam added that Namma Metro would eventually adopt six car trains to accommodate more passengers, once more stations were open for public use. “Our stations have already been designed to accommodate 6 cars with a capacity of 40,000 peak hour peak direction traffic,” he said.He added that within six  months, BMRCL had managed to meet operations and maintenance costs and earned an added profit of Rs 4 lakh.