The East-West Metro project is firmly on track, with the state cabinet according a formal approval to the Rs 4310-crore project on Thursday.

Work will begin in a year and be completed by 2013, according to transport department officials.

A Metro ride on the 13.77-km stretch will begin at Salt Lake’s Sector V and pass through 12 stations, including Sealdah, Bowbazar and Writers’ Buildings, before reaching Howrah station. The car shed will be located at Salt Lake’s Central Park.

The proposal will now be sent to the Centre for clearance. “We’re expecting the clearance to arrive around October,” said a transport department official.

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) is expected to fund 45 per cent of the project as a “soft loan”, while the state will fund 30 per cent, and the Centre the remainder, the official said.

“By February 2008, we intend to sign the loan agreement with the JBIC. Work on the project is expected to start in December 2008. We intend to wind up by May 2013,” said a senior transport department official.

The economic affairs department of the Union finance ministry has already cleared the project at a meeting between its officials and the state transport secretary and finance secretary Samar Ghosh in Delhi. The urban development ministry has also cleared the project.

Though the Centre remains the guarantor for the loan from the Japanese bank, the principal and the interest will have to be repaid by the state. The Centre has also refused to shoulder any losses made by the project.

A fact-finding committee from Japan will fly down to Calcutta in July to make the “final enquiries”, said the transport official.

In September, the JBIC will send its final appraisal committee, which will decide on the financing of the project.

Delhi Metro Railway Corporation has prepared a detailed report for the project, said the official.