New Delhi: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought approval for the Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase-II project worth Rs 24,269 crore and official recognition of the Hyderabad-Bangalore defence manufacturing corridor.
The chief minister made a comprehensive presentation to the Prime Minister on four key areas — metro rail expansion, regional connectivity infrastructure, semiconductor ecosystem development and defence manufacturing sector growth in the state, according to a release by the Telangana government.
In the meeting held separately at Bharat Mandapam here, Reddy sought cabinet approval for Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase-II, which envisages expansion of 76.4 km across five corridors. The existing Phase-I covers 69 km across three corridors and was implemented at a cost of Rs 22,000 crore.
According to the funding pattern, the Centre’s share would be 18 per cent (Rs 4,230 crore), state government’s contribution 30 per cent (Rs 7,313 crore) and the remaining 48 per cent (Rs 11,693 crore) would be through debt financing.
“No expansion has been taken up in the last 10 years by the previous government. The present government has submitted comprehensive proposals for Phase-II expansion,” Reddy told the Prime Minister.
The state government had submitted the proposals to Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on November 4, 2024, and has already provided clarifications sought by the ministry, the release said.
The chief minister pointed out that Chennai Metro Phase-II (Rs 63,246 crore) was approved in October 2024, while Bangalore Metro Phase-II (Rs 14,788 crore) got nod in April 2021 and Phase-III (Rs 15,611 crore) in August 2024.
Reddy also sought approval for the Regional Ring Road comprising northern and southern corridors around Hyderabad. The northern part from Sangareddy to Choutuppal covers major towns including Narsapur, Toopran, Gajwel, Jagdevpur and Bhongir.
For the northern corridor, NHAI has already initiated land acquisition with the state sharing 50 per cent of LA costs. Awards for over 90 per cent land have been sent to NHAI for approval and tenders have been floated.
The CM requested simultaneous development of both northern and southern parts, citing traffic saturation on existing Outer Ring Road with over one lakh vehicles per day.
“Unless both parts are taken up simultaneously, the roads cannot be put to efficient use. Delayed implementation of southern part will lead to cost escalation,” he said.
The state also proposed Regional Ring Railway parallel to the 370-km ring road and a greenfield expressway from Bandar port to dry port near Hyderabad to boost the pharmaceutical sector.
Highlighting Telangana’s semiconductor ecosystem with global R&D centres of AMD, Qualcomm, NVIDIA and manufacturers like Foxconn and Kaynes, Reddy sought the Centre’s support for India’s Semiconductor Mission (ISM) projects.
“Telangana offers seismic safety, industrial land, skilled workforce and strong infrastructure making it ideal for semiconductor investments aligned with the target of USD 500 billion electronics production by 2030,” he said.
The Chief Minister sought official notification of Hyderabad-Bangalore defence corridor, pointing out that other states receive policy support while mature ecosystems like Hyderabad are overlooked.
Hyderabad hosts over a dozen Defence PSUs, 1,000-plus MSMEs and has attracted global majors including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, GE, Safran and Honeywell.
Reddy requested fast-track approvals for defence joint ventures, assured government orders for OEMs, and Production Linked Incentive scheme for defence MSMEs facing high investments and long gestation periods.
The CM also sought to host the next DefExpo in Hyderabad, emphasizing the city’s position as the largest Make in India hub for aerospace and defence manufacturing.
Reddy was in the national capital to attend the 10th governing council meeting of government think tank NITI Aayog. Later, the Chief Minister met Union Minister for Heavy Industries H D Kumaraswamy and discussed state issues.
