Thiruvananthapuram: E Sreedharan, principal advisor to DMRC (Delhi Metro Rail Corporation), while meeting Food minister K V Thomas, reiterated his demand to entitle DMRC the complete project work of Kochi Metro Rail.

He said that he would not take up the venture assigned to him if DMRC is not given the complete project. “The Kerala government should grant the Kochi Metro Rail project to the DMRC as that will help me indulge with the project easily and complete it in time,” he added.

The work was scheduled to begin in 2006, so as to commission the project by 2010. But procedural and political wrangles delayed the Union Cabinet’s nod for the project.

But now with the Centre giving its clearance for the Rs.5,182 crore project, the Kochi metro is expected to be running by 2016 in the Aluva-MG Road-Pettah corridor, covering a distance of 25 km.