Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao laid foundation stone for Phase II of the Hyderabad Metro Rail Project near Mind Space in Madhapur on Friday.

After laying the foundation stone KCR said that the Government will be taken up Metro Rail Project on its own funds, without the support of the Central Government. If the Central Government fails to cooperate and does not respond to our request for allocation of funds, he added.

This 31-kilometre long stretch costing Rs 6,250 crore will connect the IT hub at Mind Space Junction and the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad. He also announced that the metro rail will be expanded around the Hyderabad Outer Ring Road in the future to strengthen the public transport system.

In connection with the expansion, the state has sought the Centre to accord in-principle approval for the Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase-II project from BHEL to Lakdi-ka-pul (26 km) and extension of Nagole to L B Nagar (five km) stretches costing Rs 8,453 crore.

The Telangana Government has urged Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri to allocate Rs 8,453 crore for metro rail works in the upcoming union budget for 2023-24.

KCR further said that how Hyderabad is a cosmopolitan city that embraces all classes, castes, religions, regions and races and is happy to lay the foundation stone for the metro, providing connectivity to the airport. The HMDA and GMR Group handed over a cheque of Rs 625 crore each 10 percent share of the project cost to the chief minister on the occasion.