The commissioning of Kochi metro’s ₹1,957-crore Kakkanad extension is likely to overshoot the December deadline, as uncertainty continues over securing the long-overdue ₹1,200-crore loan for the extension from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), it is learnt.

The delay in securing the loan has, in turn, affected the pace at which the extension project is being executed. Subsequently, Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) has set March 2027 as the revised deadline for completing work on the viaduct and stations along the proposed 11.20-km corridor, christened the metro’s Pink Line. It is hoped that the Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) would grant the safety certificate for the viaduct, stations, trains and allied infrastructure on the stretch by June 2027, official sources said.

Once these structures and their components are ready, most likely by March 2027, train rakes would begin trial runs at different speeds on the corridor to obtain the safety certificate by June 2027 and commence commercial operations on the stretch, they added.

Stating that the AIIB had earlier accorded in-principle sanction for the loan, metro sources said they were hopeful that the bank would sanction and disburse the amount within a week. “The disbursal of the loan is critical to clear the dues of the contracting firms so that work can gather pace, at least from May 20. This will also help deploy more workers at the project sites. For now, we have assured the contractors that there would be no default in payments. The aim is to carry out the pending works in full swing, especially with the monsoon around the corner,” they added.

Traffic snarls

In the meantime, the delay in completing the metro’s Kakkanad extension, and the consequent delay in removing barricades from work sites, are causing hardship to motorists and police personnel on enforcement duty at Kaloor, Palarivattom, Civil Line Road and Seaport-Airport Road.

Citing an example, a traffic police officer said the delay in reducing the barricaded area in front of St. Martin’s Church on the Palarivattom-JLN Stadium corridor had been causing severe traffic snarls extending up to the Palarivattom Bypass junction and the JLN Stadium.

“It is high time KMRL directed the contractors to reduce the barricaded space at all these locations to prevent worsening traffic snarls,” he added.