DMRC proposes 6% consultancy charge on project cost for Patna Metro

Patna (Urban Transport News): Many Metro corporations in the country were trying to get the project work of the Patna Metro. Apart from the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation (Maha Metro) and Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) were also in race. DMRC has demanded nearly 6% of consultancy charge. Official from DMRC and Maha metro had also made a presentation here. This is a biggest project for the DMRC among others.

However, after getting the work done, Patna Metro Rail Corporation (PMRCL) will have no importance. Actually, no Metro in the country is able to meet the cost of operation and maintenance on passenger fare alone. Most of metro projects are thinking about non-fair box revenue model. Except Kochi Metro Rail Limited, most of the Metro authorities are working with other projects to develop additional sources of income besides their original projects, DMRC and LMRC are the main examples.

LMRC, which is set to run Lucknow Metro in UP, is now also entrusted with other metro rail projects in Agra and Kanpur. In other side, after getting the complete project work of the Patna Metro by DMRC, PMRCL will not even have the experience of putting a brick in the field of construction of the Metro project. Experts believe that even if the metro extension in Bihar, its work will also be given to an external body instead of the PMRCL. In these circumstances, too much staffing will not be needed for the project.

In the proposal, DMRC has quoted consultancy charge nearly 6% of the Patna metro project cost. After inclusion of this amount, a total 9,000 crores will be spent on the construction of the project. The six percent will be Rs. 540 crores. The cost of the project may increase further if the cost of the project increases. In the project of 13,000 crores, the rest of the amount will be utilised for operation and maintenance of the metro project.