Bhubaneswar, Nov. 6: A proposed circular railway, as part of the mass rapid transit system, will provide a smooth and faster ride to commuters willing to travel between Cuttack and Bhubaneswar and beyond.

The project will extend across the entire state capital region covering the twin cities and neighbouring towns such as Khurda, Jatni and Choudwar.

Several institutes of great repute, including the IIT, Niser and a host of industrial projects, are coming up near the Khurda-Jatni belt on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar. Cuttack city has also extended up to Choudwar, a thriving industrial town. It has been estimated that the population of the region will reach 42 lakh by 2030.

“The decision to extend the project was taken by the government yesterday in view of the massive infrastructure development expected to take place in the region,” said special secretary of the housing and urban development department S.K. Ratho.

“Instead of a linear project that had been planned between Bhubaneswar and Cuttack earlier, there will be a circular railway system,” he said.

The mass rapid transit project will be integrated with the airport, railway stations and major transit points in the region.

In August, the state government had signed an agreement with Hyderabad-based Balaji Railroad Systems Limited for preparation of the detailed project report. The company had been asked to prepare the report for mass rapid transit system on a 30-km route between Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. Now, it will be asked to explore the feasibility of running a mass rapid transit system across the entire region.

The detailed project report is expected to be ready within a year, and after it is approved, the execution of the project is likely to take eight to 10 years depending upon the cost factor and funding, said an official.

The Union urban development ministry has agreed to finance 50 per cent of the project cost under the urban transport planning scheme, while the state government will bear the rest 50 per cent of the expenditure.

The ministry has been financing mass rapid transit system projects in the cities with more than two million population and has accorded in-principle nod to the state government for preparing the report for the proposed project.

In the first phase, the Hyderabad-based company will focus on areas such as traffic and work on assessment and identification of suitable alignments. Later, the study will cover environmental impact assessment, cost estimates, economic and financial analysis, implementation strategy, institutional arrang-ement and implementation schedule.