Metro stations to have shops

 

Metro Rail managing director N.V.S. Reddy said, “Walkways will be designed in such a manner that they will help people will reach not only the station but also other destinations.”

The build, operate and transfer system, on the basis of which the project has been planned, has the concessionaire Larsen & Toubro begin work on three malls in the city at Punjagutta-Ameerpet road, Erramanzil and the Hitec City area. 

 

The malls will have multiplexes, offices and also commercial spaces. The Punjagutta-Ameerpet mall will have three basements, ground and five floors. It is proposed that there will be eight screens in the fourth and fifth floors. Office blocks have also been planned in the three basements. 

 

There will be one more multiplex at Erramanzil, near NIMS Hospital. The mall here will have a six-screen multiplex and commercial hub. Another mall has been planned at Hitec City near NIFT. There will be malls on all three Metro corridors, said sources. 

 

A senior L&T officer said, “Work on phase-I malls are expected to be completed by October 2015. Proposed malls for phase-II will be completed by 2016-17.” 

With the city’s current population at 8 million, which is expected to touch 13.6 million by 2021, the Metro is expected to decongest the city. Currently 3 million personalised vehicles are plying on Hyderabad roads. There is an estimated 8 million motorised trips made every day and only 3.2 million people use public transportation. 

 

Hyderabad Metro Rail is expected to cater to 50,000 commuters during peak traffic hours on the for corridors one and two and 35,000 on the corridor three. Four trains with three cars are being tested at the Uppal depot. Another three trains are expected to arrive within 15 days and another three by the year-end for the Miyapur depot. Metro Rail will have a total of 57 trains.