Hyderabad metro incurs Rs 260 crore loss for 160 days suspension of services

Hyderabad: Hyderabad metro rail has suffered a loss of Rs 260 crore for suspending the operations since May 22 after the centre announced nation-wide lockdown in the view of corona pandemic.

The metro rail which usually witnesses thousands of passengers on a single day is incurring losses on every passing day. And the metro officials are waiting for the centre's nod to resume metro operations. Finally, the central government cleared the way for the metro rail across the state as a part of the guidelines announced in the unlock 4.0.

The annual report of L&T Metro Rail, which operates the Hyderabad metro, the revenue from operations and other income for the financial year 2019-2020 under review stood at Rs 598.20 crore i.e, Rs 1.63 crore revenue per day.

In the report, it is also mentioned that the company (L&T metro rail) is protected by the force majeure clauses of the concession agreement to claim an extension of concession period equal in length to the period during which the concessionaire was prevented from the collection of fare and reimbursement of force majeure costs. The management of the company will study the impact and will lodge appropriate claims within a reasonable time once the operations are resumed.

As per the report, the concession period of the project is 35 years. However, the period is further extended to 25 years with respect to the fulfilment of certain conditions.