Hyderabad: Hyderabad’s Metro Rail project is competing with several projects across the world for the prestigious People’s Choice Award administered by the UK-based Institution of Civil Engineers.

The winner will be decided through online voting by people from across the world, the institution said in a press release. Voting is open until September 28.

Hyderabad’s Metro will be competing with projects like the Tadcaster Bridge in England and the Harbour Area treatment project of Hong Kong.

The announcement came as the stage was set for the opening of the second stretch of the Metro, from Ameerpet to L.B. Nagar.

The 16-kilometre stretch will be formally inaugurated on September 24 by the state governor, E.S.L. Narasimhan, at Ameerpet station.

Soon after the Metro Rail Safety Commissioner issued a safety certificate for the route, the state’s Minister for urban development and municipal administration, K. Taraka Rama Rao, along with the officials of Hyderabad Metro and L & T met the governor and invited him for the inauguration.

With this, the entire 29-kilometre corridor from Miyapur to L.B. Nagar will become operational. Another 17-kilometre stretch from Ameerpet to Nagole, on another corridor, was also already operational.

The new stretch will be opening almost ten months after the Miyapur-Ameerpet-Nagole route was opened by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November last.

With the opening of new stretch, and the 46-km stretch becoming operational, Hyderabad will be home to the second biggest Metro project in India after Delhi.

The new stretch will link Ameerpet to Nampally railway station, the central bus station at Imlibun, Nalakpet and Dilsukhnagar and the eastern suburb of L.B. Nagar.

The travel time from Miyapur to L.B. Nagar, which is two hours by road, will be reduced to 52 minutes by Metro.

Work was progressing briskly on the third corridor from Secunderabad to Imlibun bus station and this is likely to be inaugurated by the middle of next year, officials said.

Later, it is also expected to be extended to Falaknuma through the heart of the old city.

While the average volume of Metro commuters stood at around 100,000 to 125,000, the new stretch was likely to add another 100,000 per day.

HMRL managing director S.V. Reddy said the frequency of train arrivals will increase to every five minutes.