Kolkata: In keeping with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise of developing the eastern states of India and bring them at par with India’s western states, Guwahati, the capital of Assam to get its own metro railway soon.

RITES, the consulting arm of the Indian Railways has been chosen to conduct a feasibility study and carry out a survey of the 196-km project and submit a detailed project report within this year to the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA).

“A feasibility study has to be conducted for the project. The Guwahati metropolitan region is spread over 2,205 square kilometres. The project will be completed in three phases. The report will be prepared for phase one, comprising 65 kilometres on three corridors. The three corridors are: the airport to Narengi, Paltan Bazar to Khanapara and Khanapara to Jalukbari,” GMDA said in a prèss statement.

The proposed Metro Rail project will connect the city’s north bank via a road-cum-railway bridge over the Brahmaputra at Narengi (south bank) and Kuruwa (north bank). According to the state Public Works Department (highway), two- lane metro rail tracks will be incorporated in the design of the six-lane bridge. The Assam government has designated Rs18 billion as its share in the project, with GMDA being designated the nodal agency.

The concept paper and terms of reference for rail Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) in Guwahati was approved by the Union urban development ministry in July, 2013. It will take at least six years to complete the first phase of the metro rail project in the city. . The project is expected to benefit 2.4 million people.

Already nine international firms have participated in the bidding process, including companies from the USA, France, Spain, Germany, Korea and Singapore.

“There is lot of interest amongst foreign and Indian companies as they find this profitable. In the city public transport is a major issue only a metro railway can solve it,” said an official of GMDA.

However, there are some geographical concerns as the city sits of a volatile tectonic plate and mild earthquakes are regular occurrence.

“Building a rail network in the city will not be easy due to the geographic nature of the city. If utmost care is not taken it can become a catastrophic,” said Subrata Gyne, a city development expert in Guwahati.