Kochi Metro Phase 3 DPR: Airport Link, Leadership Shift

Phase 3 DPR Submitted to State Government

Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) has submitted the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for Phase 3 to the Kerala State Government, advancing a 17.5-km corridor from Aluva to Angamaly along NH44 that delivers direct connectivity to Cochin International Airport at Nedumbassery.

The filing lands at a structurally awkward moment: Managing Director Loknath Behera stepped down immediately after the submission, leaving Ernakulam District Collector G. Priyanka holding additional charge on a temporary basis.

The corridor is not a routine extension. Haryana-based Systra MVA Consulting India Private Ltd, which began DPR work in February 2026, has designed a 3-km underground section into the airport and an elevated viaduct from Aluva to Kariyad, with a metro station near the Airport Railway Station.

The alignment is engineered for multimodal interchange—road, rail and air—rather than maximum catchment, and that choice carries commercial consequences.

What the DPR Leaves Out

The most contested element is the exclusion of Angamaly Railway Station connectivity.

Higher Education Minister Roji M. John confirmed the link was dropped after feasibility work showed it would force the metro line to revert from the airport toward NH 544, inflating land-acquisition cost near the airport.

That is a rare public admission of cost-driven scope discipline—KMRL is protecting the airport alignment over a politically popular railway interchange.

Capital Reality Versus Expansion Ambition

KMRL is expanding its pipeline while managing a funding squeeze:

- Phase 2, running from Kaloor to Infopark, is expected to complete within a year but still requires eight additional trains, with procurement slowed by a funding gap.
- Godrej & Boyce holds over ₹100 crore in Phase 2 station works.
- Phase 1 posted an operating profit of ₹53 crore in 2025-26 on ridership of 1.25 lakh passengers—healthy, but nowhere near enough to self-fund Phase 3.

The Signal

The real signal is institutional continuity risk at the approval gateway.

KMRL is now pushing two DPRs—Kochi Phase 3 and Thiruvananthapuram Metro—toward the Union Ministry of Urban Affairs, while operating under temporary leadership and constrained rolling-stock procurement.

For contractors and suppliers, the near-term opportunity remains Phase 2 completion and train procurement; Phase 3 is still two approval cycles away from any bid-ready package.